Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 2.3% Following Dividend Announcement

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares shot up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $51.68 and last traded at $51.57. 6,573,401 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 9,148,315 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.40.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.72.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 2.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.25.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,088 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 27,519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,735,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.