Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.10.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on OXY shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 2,477,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 257,758,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,921,348,477.50. This represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rule One Partners LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 10,382 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth $2,509,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased 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 buying an additional 15,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 46,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $51.35 on Wednesday. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $45.17 and a 52-week high of $71.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

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.