Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.90.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY stock opened at $50.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.41. 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 has a 52-week low of $45.17 and a 52-week high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.56 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.