Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price rose 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $49.11 and last traded at $49.08. Approximately 1,401,452 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 9,395,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.19.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Institutional investors 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.