Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 1.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) were up 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $163.10 and last traded at $163.01. Approximately 2,418,410 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 7,248,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

Chevron Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $287.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $155.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 previous year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $1,422,062.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,017,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,036,302,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,456,008 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,203,899 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.