© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Berkshire Hathaway logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, May 10, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDiarmid
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – New York-listed Berkshire Hathaway said Thursday it has acquired more shares in Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE), increasing its stake in the oil company to 24.4%.
In a regulatory filing, the group controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett said it paid about $201 million for 3.46 million shares of Occidental between May 16 and 18.
Berkshire has bought shares of Occidental on each of the past six trading days, paying about $327 million for 5.62 million shares.
She now owns about 217.3 million shares in Occidental, valued at about $12.7 billion.
Berkshire also owns approximately $9.5 billion in preferred shares in Occidental that carry an annual yield of 8%, as well as warrants to purchase $5 billion in common shares in Occidental at $59.62 each.
Occidental’s share price closed Thursday down 67 cents at $58.25.
Berkshire acquired preferred stock and warrants in 2019 when it helped fund Houston-based Occidental’s purchase of Anadarko Petroleum Corp (NYSE:).
I started buying common stock early last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine and as oil prices soared.
At Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting on May 6, Buffett noted Occidental’s presence in the Permian Basin, which accounts for a significant amount of production, and called Occidental CEO Vicky Hollub an “extraordinary director.”
He also tried to end speculation that Berkshire might buy Occidental and diversify its energy portfolio.
He said, “We will not buy control.” “We’ve got the right department running it…we won’t know what to do with it.”
Berkshire had accumulated a 22.6% stake in the BNSF rail line before paying $26.5 billion for the remainder in 2010.
Buffett, 92, has run Berkshire since 1965.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company owns dozens of companies, including auto insurance Geico, several retail and manufacturing companies, as well as stocks such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:).