Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Should You Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price was up 0.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $153.38 and last traded at $152.89. Approximately 1,265,514 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 7,640,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CVX shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $152.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $274.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.36). Chevron had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 11.45 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total value of $26,357,398.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,356.40. The trade was a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,023 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at $1,491,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 792,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $114,855,000 after purchasing an additional 15,507 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at about $244,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Chevron by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 301,855 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,720,000 after buying an additional 10,772 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is 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.