Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 0.3% – What’s Next?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price dropped 0.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $47.59 and last traded at $47.81. Approximately 1,837,940 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 9,874,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.45.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.61 and its 200 day moving average is $50.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. As a group, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $14,199,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 613,647 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,320,000 after buying an additional 6,461 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,942,000 after buying an additional 50,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,509,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas.