Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.55.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.2 %

OXY stock opened at $48.64 on Thursday. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $45.17 and a 1-year high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $45.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have acquired a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 10,382 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $2,509,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.