Warren Buffett stock Occidental Petroleum missed analysts' fourth-quarter earnings targets after Monday's market close. While the energy company reported exploding profit growth for the year, OXY shares traded lower Monday afternoon. Occidental Petroleum stock jumped Tuesday.
Buffett Stock: Occidental Petroleum Earnings
Estimates: Analysts projected earnings growing 22% to $1.81 per share in Q4 with revenue increasing 6% to $8.37 billion. For the full year, Wall Street forecast EPS skyrocketing 279% to $9.68. Analysts viewed sales surging 43% to $37.1 billion
Results: Occidental Petroleum reported earnings falling 9% to $1.61 per share in Q4 while revenue increased 4% to $8.22 billion. On the year, EPS ballooned 267% to $9.35 while sales shot up 43% to $37.1 billion.
The Buffett stock announced plans to return $3 billion to shareholders through share buy backs in 2023. OXY also increased its dividend by 38%. Occidental Petroleum returned $562 million to shareholders in Q4 and $3 billion throughout 2022.
"Our fourth quarter of 2022 performance capped a year of strong results, in which we set operational records across our U.S. Onshore, Gulf of Mexico and International oil and gas businesses, " CEO Vicki Hollub said in a statement.
In Q3, the U.S. energy company posted mixed results. EPS soared 180% to $2.44, just short of analyst projections. Sales came in at $9.5 billion, a 40% gain year over year and just above views.
Occidental Petroleum stock gained 1.4% to 59.77 Tuesday during market trade. OXY shares dropped more than 1% Monday after normal trade. Occidental Petroleum stock is down around 6% on the year and 8% in February.
The Buffett stock ranks fifth in the Oil & Gas-Exploration & Production industry group. The Buffett stock has a 73 Composite Rating out of 99. The stock has a 52 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauging share-price movement. The EPS Rating is 81.
Buffett Loves OXY
Houston-based Occidental Petroleum was a Warren Buffett favorite in 2022 as increased oil and gas prices drove record profits for many energy companies. OXY deals primarily in oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas. It also has a petrochemicals segment that has performed well in recent quarters.
Billionaire investor Buffett has been on Occidental Petroleum stock buying spree lately, with his Berkshire Hathaway adding more than 20 million OXY shares to its portfolio since July 2022. Berkshire Hathaway has raised its stake in OXY to 21.4% of the company, according FactSet.
In Q4, Berkshire sold, on net, about $15 billion worth of stocks. For full-year 2022, the conglomerate's stock purchases exceeded stock sales by $34.27 billion. That was mostly tied to hefty investments in Chevron and OXY shares amid the oil price surge, partly tied to the Russia-Ukraine war.
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