Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 2.6% – Here’s What Happened

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shot up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.82 and last traded at $50.70. 4,829,176 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 9,638,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on OXY. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.36. The company has a market cap of $47.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 773,762 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,880,000 after buying an additional 51,042 shares during the last quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth $1,002,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 149,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 13.2% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 57,365 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1,247.7% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 50,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,602,000 after acquiring an additional 46,740 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.