Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Purchases 3,687 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,634 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,687 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.6 %

OXY stock opened at $49.47 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $44.70 and a one year high of $71.19. The stock has a market cap of $46.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. Equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OXY. 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.82.

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.