Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) dropped 0.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $157.94 and last traded at $158.39. Approximately 1,316,946 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 7,204,568 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Down 1.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $282.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued 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 return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.71%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.37%.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In other news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Chevron by 0.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Chevron by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 36,269,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,247,142,000 after buying an additional 392,916 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Chevron by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,855,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,613,960,000 after buying an additional 746,806 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,017,750,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Chevron by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 20,471,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,965,135,000 after buying an additional 1,394,091 shares in the last quarter. 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.