Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway continues to buy Occidental Petroleum

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• Buffett buys over five million shares in early March
• More share purchases follow less than two weeks later
• Berkshire will receive regulatory approval in August 2022 to increase its stake up to 50 percent

Buffett will start building Occidental Petroleum holdings in early March

Occidental Petroleum, OXY for short, is an international company that is primarily concerned with the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Buffett first invested in the US company in 2019. Especially last year, the investment turned out to be a profit given the high oil prices. Earlier this month, however, star investor Warren Buffett took advantage of the company’s recent share price weakness and increased its stake in OXY by around 5.8 million shares for the first time since September 2022, according to an SEC document. On March 3, 6, and 8, Buffett’s investment holding company Berkshire Hathaway purchased the shares for prices ranging from $59.85 to $61.90, respectively. At the time of purchase, the entire block of shares was worth approximately $350 million. This increased the stake in the company from 21.4 percent to 22.2 percent. Additionally, OXY is among the top 10 holdings in Berkshire’s portfolio.

Another acquisition of Occidental Petroleum shares

However, the first purchase this month was not enough. According to another SEC document, Berkshire Hathaway bought another roughly 7.9 million shares of OXY between March 13 and March 15. At the time of purchase, the shares were priced between $56.66 and $61.29. Overall, Buffett’s investment holding company owns around 208 million Occidental shares, or 23.1 percent of all outstanding shares.

Permission for 50 percent share

Berkshire obtained regulatory approval last August to increase its stake to up to 50 percent, according to CNN. Berkshire previously filed a request to increase its stake on July 11, saying it would not hurt competition, undermine regulators, or increase costs to consumers. Some investors and analysts then suggested that Berkshire might buy Occidental to diversify its energy portfolio, which includes multiple utilities, power distributors, and renewable energy projects, including wind power. However, Cole Smead, president of Smead Capital Management Inc., said it was unlikely that Buffett would buy all of Occidental anytime soon. Instead, he suspected buying more shares on the open market at lower prices than in a full buyout. It remains to be seen whether there will be a takeover in the future.

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