Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) rose 1.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $140.24 and last traded at $137.68. Approximately 8,423,604 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 7,913,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Chevron from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Chevron to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.50.

Chevron Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $242.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 EPS 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 quarter last year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.37%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,017,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at $1,036,302,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Chevron by 21,191.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,408,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $904,746,000 after buying an additional 5,382,847 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,496,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,389,380,000 after buying an additional 2,432,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Chevron by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,806,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,323,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,262 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.