Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

OXY has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Stephens upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.19.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of OXY stock opened at $51.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.60. Occidental Petroleum has a 1 year low of $45.17 and a 1 year high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 2,477,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.25 per share, with a total value of $114,577,992.50. Following the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth $50,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 224.0% in the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $87,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.