Inkwell Capital LLC Takes Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Inkwell Capital LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,397 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $860,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Cove Street Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 20,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 7,509 shares in the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $2,821,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $1,485,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 121.6% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,886 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 17,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 120.5% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,121 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE OXY opened at $48.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.87. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $44.70 and a 12-month high of $71.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business 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 1.97%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum 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.