Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Up 0.8% on Strong Earnings

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) rose 0.8% on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $139.00 and last traded at $137.38. Approximately 4,038,431 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 8,912,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.26.

The oil and gas company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.03. Chevron had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The company had revenue of $47.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Chevron’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CVX shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Chevron from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays downgraded Chevron from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Chevron from $194.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CVX. Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,369,000. Nicholas Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 80,025 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,591,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 179,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,755 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,205,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,817,000 after acquiring an additional 52,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth about $594,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chevron Trading Up 1.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $243.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $149.76 and a 200 day moving average of $152.53.

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.