Sciencast Management LP Takes $1.53 Million Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 31,021 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,533,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,886,000 after buying an additional 444,850 shares during the period. H&H International Investment LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% during the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $475,389,000 after buying an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,236,980 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $209,349,000 after purchasing an additional 229,210 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,958,596 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $146,184,000 after purchasing an additional 377,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,461,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $121,600,000 after purchasing an additional 805,525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of OXY stock opened at $48.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $45.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 1.51. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $44.70 and a 12-month high of $71.19.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on OXY. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.45.

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.