Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) rose 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $154.34 and last traded at $150.95. Approximately 3,377,535 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 6,197,917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVX has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target 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. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Chevron from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Chevron from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chevron presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.60.

Chevron Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $153.69 and its 200 day moving average is $150.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $275.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.12.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $50.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.05 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 71.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,356.40. This trade represents a 97.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Chevron by 19,404.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,901,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,218,280,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876,260 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 15,750.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,901,345 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $574,551,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876,731 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 949.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,819,963 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $562,566,000 after buying an additional 3,456,008 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,108,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,581,137,000 after buying an additional 3,203,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Chevron by 55.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,537,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,335,492,000 after buying an additional 3,048,819 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.