Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 1.2% – Still a Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s share price traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $145.34 and last traded at $144.84. 6,132,790 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 7,800,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.19.

Chevron Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.81 and a 200-day moving average of $151.30. The company has a market cap of $263.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $50.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total transaction of $26,357,398.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $685,356.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the third quarter worth $29,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its stake in Chevron by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by 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.