Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Downgraded by Scotiabank to Sector Perform

Scotiabank cut shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $40.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.71.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE OXY opened at $37.68 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $69.44. The stock has a market cap of $35.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.46 and a 200-day moving average of $49.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,053,055,000 after purchasing an additional 8,896,890 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,365,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434,098 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,245,357 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $701,816,000 after buying an additional 398,467 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,065,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $349,085,000 after buying an additional 491,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,357,689 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $314,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278,389 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.