Aquatic Capital Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 29,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,449,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $40.35 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $68.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.88. The company has a market capitalization of $37.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.02.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.19.

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.