Insider Buying: Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Director Buys $194,900.00 in Stock

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) Director William Klesse purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.98 per share, with a total value of $194,900.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 218,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,533,228.74. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.2%

OXY stock opened at $39.65 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $34.78 and a one year high of $53.20. The firm has a market cap of $39.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.16. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 7.81%.The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on OXY shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. City Holding Co. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% in the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,193.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.