Warren Buffett Adds More Occidental Petroleum

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) has once again added to its large position in Occidental Petroleum (OXY), according to a regulatory filing.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate bought almost 5.8 million shares of the oil company in a series of trades at prices ranging from $59.85 to $61.90, the Tuesday night filing showed. Berkshire owns 22.2% of the company, up from 21.4% previously.

The latest trades, valued at more than $350 million, are Buffett’s first purchase of the stock since September. Berkshire Hathaway now holds more than 200 million shares of Occidental, valued at $12.2 billion based on a close of $60.85 on Tuesday.

The “Oracle of Omaha” places significant weight on the quality of a company’s management when executing his investment strategy and he has previously sung the praises of Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub.

Following the oil firm’s fourth-quarter earnings presentation in February 2022, Buffett amassed a $4.5 billion stake in a matter of days.

“I read every word and said, ‘This is exactly what I would be doing,'” Buffett said of the earnings release. “She’s running the company the right way,” he added, referring to Hollub.

Hollub said Monday on CNBC that she had met Buffett “just a few days ago,” with the famed investor seeing a green light to add to his holdings.

The latest move by Buffett comes less than two weeks after his much-anticipated annual letter, in which he made no reference to energy. He’s taking advantage of favorable oil prices and a 3% decline in Occidental this year.

Hollub said Monday that oil prices were “in a good place,” though there could be a “supply issue” by the end of the year, which “could” lead to higher prices.