Analysts Set Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) Target Price at $174.13

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $174.13.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Chevron Stock Down 0.2 %

Chevron stock opened at $164.37 on Monday. Chevron has a twelve month low of $135.37 and a twelve month high of $167.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.64. The company has a market capitalization of $289.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chevron 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is 70.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $1,422,062.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Chevron by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its position in shares of Chevron by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $732,000. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Chevron by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 37,143 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,470,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Chevron by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 5,380 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.