Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 2.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price dropped 2.4% on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $42.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as low as $38.36 and last traded at $38.75. Approximately 2,625,347 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 12,751,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.71.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James cut Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.43.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. Sell-side analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

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.