Berkshire Hathaway Seems Headed for a 20% Stake in Occidental

Berkshire Hathaway has rapidly increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum to 17.4% in recent trading sessions and seems headed toward a 20% interest that would allow Berkshire to reflect a proportional share of the big energy company’s earnings in its profits.

There is speculation that Berkshire Hathaway is buying more Occidental Petroleum stock Tuesday amid a sharp pullback in energy stocks keyed off a large decline in the price of oil. It held 163.4 million shares of Occidental on Friday.