Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 8.1% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price traded down 8.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $36.57 and last traded at $36.99. 7,049,052 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 10,676,273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.71.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $35.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $46.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. As a group, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its holdings in 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 valued at $13,053,055,000 after purchasing an additional 8,896,890 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 10,434,098 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 398,467 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 491,797 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $314,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278,389 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.