Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price was up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $155.78 and last traded at $155.78. Approximately 1,253,115 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 7,564,044 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CVX shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Up 2.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.36). Chevron had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.71%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $1,422,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $161,192.50. This trade represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Chevron by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,108,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,581,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,203,899 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Chevron by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,105,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,431,429,000 after acquiring an additional 874,962 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Chevron by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,147,686 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $463,560,000 after acquiring an additional 171,089 shares during the period. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $594,000. Finally, Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $729,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification of liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas; and carbon capture and storage, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.