Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $151.18 and last traded at $150.48. 1,793,615 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 5,635,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CVX shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Chevron in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Chevron from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chevron currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.19.

Chevron Stock Performance

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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $153.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.10. The stock has a market cap of $268.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.12.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.05 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.65%.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In other Chevron 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,356.40. This trade represents a 97.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Chevron by 19,404.1% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 4,876,260 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in Chevron by 15,750.1% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 3,876,731 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,456,008 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Chevron by 11.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Chevron by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,537,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,335,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,048,819 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.