Occidental mired in stock slump that typically has prompted ‘Berkshire put’

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) +0.4% in Wednesday’s trading, but shares have been mired below $60 for the entire month of August, below a level that has routinely prompted purchases by its biggest holder, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B).

Past multimillion-share purchases were so routinely timed to drops below $60 that Wall Street analysts called it “the Berkshire put,” for setting a price floor on Occidental’s (OXY) shares, but according to Reuters, analysts say the lack of purchases may reflect a decision by Buffett not to add to his nearly 30% stake in the company.

Prior drops in Occidental (OXY) have routinely triggered substantial Buffett buys for nearly two years, including his acquisition of 2.56M shares in June at prices between $59.86 and $59.75, and his purchase of nearly $590M in shares after the price fell last December due to the debt acquired in the CrownRock deal.

This month’s doldrums in Occidental (OXY) stock price marks the longest downturn during the period since January’s swoon that ended after Berkshire (BRK.A) (BRK.B) bought 4.3M shares in early February.