Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $11.68 Million Position in Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 247,245 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 19,212 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $11,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,201,540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,214,773,000 after buying an additional 697,521 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,044,478 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,649,147,000 after acquiring an additional 615,566 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 22.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,089,878 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $756,796,000 after acquiring an additional 3,267,269 shares during the last quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 0.5% during the second quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can now owns 6,050,418 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $254,118,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,955,130 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $208,165,000 after purchasing an additional 522,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, Director William R. Klesse acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.98 per share, with a total value of $194,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 218,913 shares in the company, valued at $8,533,228.74. The trade was a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on OXY shares. Argus upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Occidental Petroleum from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.62.

Key Headlines Impacting Occidental Petroleum

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company fundamentals improving — recent coverage highlights Occidental’s substantial debt reduction and stronger free cash flow driven by its midstream and marketing segments, supporting credit metrics and dividend/repayment capacity. Occidental Petroleum: Buy, Sell, or Hold?
• Positive Sentiment: Debt-tender announced — Occidental launched a large cash tender for multiple series of senior notes and debentures in February; buying back debt can lower interest expense, simplify the capital structure and improve leverage metrics if funded prudently, which investors view as balance-sheet positive. Occidental Debt Tender Puts Balance Sheet And Valuation In Spotlight
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/coverage momentum — recent street coverage includes upgrades/positive notes (Wall Street Zen upgrade) that can support demand for the shares as sentiment improves. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector tailwinds cited — energy-focused roundups recommend energy names as commodity prices rise, which is a positive backdrop for OXY but not company-specific enough to drive a major re-rating on its own. 2 No-Brainer Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor rating move — Argus moved the stock to “hold” in a recent note; an upgrade to hold is a mild signal but not a strong buy catalyst. Read More
• Negative Sentiment: Berkshire write-down — Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a multibillion-dollar write-down tied in part to its Occidental stake (reported alongside Berkshire’s quarterly results and new CEO letter), which can be interpreted as a valuation haircut by a large investor and may weigh on sentiment. Warren Buffett’s successor Greg Abel publishes his first letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders Berkshire Hathaway profit falls on lower insurance income, Occidental writedown

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:OXY opened at $53.04 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $34.78 and a 12-month high of $53.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.92.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.14%.The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.63%.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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.