Investors Purchase High Volume of Occidental Petroleum Put Options (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 147,348 put options on the company. This is an increase of 59% compared to the average daily volume of 92,584 put options.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE OXY opened at $45.36 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $45.17 and a fifty-two week high of $71.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.56 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.92%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were 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 owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $32,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $87,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.10.

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.