Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 0.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) shares traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $174.00 to $171.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Chevron traded as low as $152.12 and last traded at $152.21. 1,922,592 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 7,718,407 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.99.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank raised Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America started coverage on Chevron in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 874,962 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Chevron by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,855,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,613,960,000 after purchasing an additional 746,806 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,892,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,881,280,000 after purchasing an additional 410,460 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Chevron by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,200,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,610,645,000 after purchasing an additional 573,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Chevron by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,496,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,389,380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432,756 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chevron Stock Up 0.4 %

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 fifty day simple moving average of $152.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.91. The company has a market capitalization of $274.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 11.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

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

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.