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Shares of U.S. oil producer Occidental Petroleum fell to $56.02 on Wednesday, below the level at which its largest shareholder, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, would normally buy shares. But this time, Berkshire has been slow to act.

In the past, Buffett's purchases of millions of shares of Occidental Petroleum were usually made when its stock price fell below $60, and Wall Street analysts also set this price range as Buffett's "window for increasing holdings."

But over the past month, Occidental's stock price has been below that level all month, the longest period of decline since January this year.

In early February, Occidental Petroleum stock ended its January slide after Berkshire acquired 4.3 million shares.

May not increase holdings

Berkshire is Occidental’s largest shareholder, with a stake worth $16.1 billion. It even received approval from U.S. regulators to acquire up to 50% of Occidental.

Previous declines in Occidental Petroleum have typically triggered large purchases by Berkshire. The trend dates back to 2022, when Berkshire made large stock purchases at prices between $57.91 and $61.38.

Last December, Occidental Petroleum was required to assume the latter's debts while acquiring CrownRock. Subsequently, the company's stock price fell. Berkshire quickly purchased nearly 10.5 million shares of Occidental Petroleum, with a total value of nearly US$590 million. In early February, Berkshire acquired 4.3 million shares of Occidental Petroleum, spending nearly US$250 million. In June, Berkshire acquired 2.56 million shares at a price of US$59.86 to US$59.75 per share.

In addition to the common stock, Berkshire also has warrants to buy 83.5 million shares of Occidental Petroleum at $59.62 per share and holds $10 billion worth of preferred stock in the company.

Analysts pointed out that Buffett did not buy Occidental Petroleum shares in the "overweight window" this time, probably because he decided not to increase his holdings in the stock. As of now, Berkshire's shareholding ratio has reached nearly 30%.

Over the past 52 weeks, Occidental Petroleum's stock price has fallen 12.3%. During the same period, the U.S. Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (code XLE), which tracks the entire energy industry, has also performed mediocrely.