Warren Buffet Makes Fresh Buys of Occidental

Berkshire Owns About 25% of Occidental After Fresh Buys

Berkshire Hathaway owns just under 25% of Occidental Petroleumafter buying about $275 million of stock in the big energy company during recent days, according to a regulatory filing late Tuesday.

• Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett continued to take advantage of weak oil and gas prices to add to his company’s holding in Occidental. Berkshire Hathaway bought a total of about 4.66 million shares of Occidental Petroleum on Thursday, Friday, and Tuesday in the open market, bringing its total ownership to 222 million shares worth $13 billion.
• Shares of Occidental were down 0.6% to $58.59 Tuesday as oil prices dipped below $70 a barrel. Berkshire bought more than $300 million of Occidental stock earlier in May.
• Buffett likes paying less than $60 a share for Occidental and Berkshire’s average cost is probably in the low to mid 50s, Barron’s estimates.

What’s Next: Berkshire started accumulating stock in Occidental in early 2022. While there has been speculation Buffett might want to buy the whole company, he has previously made clear he doesn’t seek control of it. However, it’s uncertain just how large an ownership stake Buffett is willing to take.

—Andrew Bary from barrons