Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) were up 0.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $153.65 and last traded at $153.51. Approximately 1,157,336 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 7,736,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CVX shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Chevron in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,280 shares in the company, 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 Trading of Chevron

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 204 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chevron Company Profile

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.