Berkshire Buys More Occidental Stock. Will It Buy the Whole Thing?

Berkshire Hathaway


purchased nearly eight million shares of

Occidental Petroleum


in recent days, bringing its stake to 208 million shares, or 23% of the big energy company, according to a regulatory filing late Wednesday.

Berkshire Hathaway (Ticker BRK.A, BRK.A) bought the shares from Monday through Wednesday at prices ranging from $56 to $61 a share. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) stock fell 5.6% Wednesday to $56.80 because of a drop of more than $3 a barrel in oil prices to under $68 a barrel as measured by West Texas Intermediate. Shares were up 1.1% to $57.40 in premarket trading Thursday.