Occidental shares rise after Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway increases stake

By Scott Kanowsky

Investing.com -- Shares in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY) gained nearly 3% in premarket U.S. trading on Wednesday after billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKa) increased its already hefty stake in the energy company.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate purchased 5.8 million shares in Occidental from March 3 to March 7, according to a regulatory filing, all within the range of $59 to $61 per share.

Berkshire's indirect ownership of the Houston-based group now totals more than 200 million shares, worth $12.2 billion based off of the stock's closing price of $60.85 on Tuesday.

Last August, regulators gave Berkshire the approval to snap up a 50% stake in Occidental, spurring speculation that it may eventually buy all of the business. The stake currently stands at more than 22%.

Occidental is among Berkshire's ten largest holdings, a list that also includes oil major Chevron (NYSE: CVX) as well as blue-chip corporate names like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).

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