Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares traded up 2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $49.68 and last traded at $49.41. 10,530,914 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 9,638,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Stephens boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.32. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $46.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 10,382 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth $2,509,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 70,580 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,638,000 after acquiring an additional 15,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1,247.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 50,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after purchasing an additional 46,740 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.