Warren Buffett Now Owns Nearly 20% Of This Oil Exploration Company: What You Need To Know

Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) said on Monday it had purchased another 1.9 million shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY.

What Happened: The Warren Buffett-led company said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had purchased 1.94 million shares for $112 million in the Texas-headquartered hydrocarbon explorer between July 14 and July 16.

Berkshire’s stake in Occidental now stands at nearly 19.4%. Should the ownership exceed 20%, it would allow Berkshire to record a proportionate amount of Occidental’s earnings as its own — based on the equity method of accounting. 

Occidental shares closed Monday 2.3% higher at $60.06 in regular trading and were up 0.75% in the after-hours session at $60.51.

See Also: How To Buy Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) Shares

Why It Matters: Refinitiv data indicates that, on average, analysts expect Occidental to earn nearly $10.7 billion this year, reported Reuters. 

At the beginning of the month, Berkshire owned 163.4 million shares worth nearly $9.9 billion. It held warrants to buy another 83.9 million shares for $5 billion. 

Since the year began, Occidental shares have risen 107.1%, while over a 12-year period they have risen 141.9%. 

Price Action: On Monday, Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares closed 1.4% higher at $418,349.01 in the regular session and fell 1.23% to $413,215.01 in extended trading. On the same day, the company’s Class B shares closed 0.8% lower at $276.27 in regular trading, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Read Next: Warren Buffett Doesn't Buy Real Estate - Here's Why Most Investors Shouldn't Either

Photo by IgorGolovniov on Shutterstock