Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price shot up 1.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $49.78 and last traded at $49.67. 2,440,226 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 10,215,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $48.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.87. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $14,199,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 613,647 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,320,000 after buying an additional 6,461 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,942,000 after acquiring an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,509,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.