Should You Reconsider Occidental Petroleum and Buy These 2 Oil Giants Instead?

Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is followed with almost religious zeal on Wall Street. When he openly backs a company, it often leads others to buy that stock without question. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) has received Buffett's support. But most investors looking for energy exposure would probably be better off with one of these two oil giants (one of which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, too).It may seem like a lifetime ago at this point, but in 2019 Chevron (NYSE: CVX) was attempting to buy Anadarko Petroleum. Occidental Petroleum, often just known as Oxy, stepped in with a counteroffer. In the end, Oxy won out thanks to Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway providing it with the financial assistance it needed to outbid Chevron. Chevron chose to walk away instead of getting into a bidding war that might lead to overpaying for Anadarko.The deal left Oxy heavily in debt, and when oil prices plunged during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the company cut its dividend. The dividend is not yet back to its pre-cut level. This isn't to suggest that Oxy is a bad energy company. In fact, it has been working on expanding its business and doing a reasonably good job of it. It recently bought CrownRock, for example, further expanding its position in the U.S. market. But many long-term investors won't be well served by the company's approach, particularly if creating a reliable and resilient income stream is part of the goal of buying an energy stock.Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool