Sterling Investment Management LLC Makes New $2.17 Million Investment in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Sterling Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 36,880 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,169,000. Occidental Petroleum comprises 1.7% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in OXY. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5,000.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 510 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 5,100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $127,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 185,181,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,629,539,450. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 260,769 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.02 per share, with a total value of $14,869,048.38. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 224,129,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,779,846,527.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 5,100,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $127,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 185,181,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,629,539,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OXY. 51job reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.88.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE OXY traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,599,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,326,973. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.03. The company has a market cap of $58.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.77. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $55.51 and a 52-week high of $76.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.59% and a net margin of 21.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 37.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.22%.

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, North Africa, and Latin America. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing.