Wolfe Research Initiates Coverage on Chevron (NYSE:CVX)

Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Chevron (NYSE:CVX) in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a peer perform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Chevron from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Chevron from $185.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Chevron from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Chevron from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $183.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Chevron from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $186.22.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of CVX opened at $159.15 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $157.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.44. Chevron has a fifty-two week low of $139.62 and a fifty-two week high of $171.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The oil and gas company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Chevron had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $48.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Chevron will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Enrique Hernandez, Jr. sold 5,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.50, for a total value of $833,523.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,761.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Enrique Hernandez, Jr. sold 5,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.50, for a total transaction of $833,523.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $416,761.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Alana K. Knowles sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $462,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 276 shares in the company, valued at $45,540. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,746 shares of company stock valued at $2,727,971 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Chevron by 1.8% during the first quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Chevron by 15.7% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 464 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 2.2% during the second quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hubbell Strickland Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 0.7% during the second quarter. Hubbell Strickland Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,493 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in Chevron by 3.1% during the first quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,148 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.