Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 2.3% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shot up 2.3% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $51.68 and last traded at $51.57. 6,573,401 shares traded hands during 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on OXY shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.72.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $52.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.25.

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

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth $32,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $44,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. 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.