Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Here’s Why

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) traded up 1.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $187.94 and last traded at $185.5790. 8,665,354 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 12,150,462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CVX shares. Argus set a $203.00 price target on Chevron in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Chevron from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Chevron from $216.00 to $204.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.70.

Chevron Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $373.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.04.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $47.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 6.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 15.74 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 123.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John B. Hess sold 380,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.20, for a total transaction of $73,416,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 278,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,718,294. This represents a 57.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 47,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.12, for a total transaction of $9,068,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,558 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,162.96. This represents a 84.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 662,400 shares of company stock worth $127,090,824 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Edge Capital LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 3,423 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,978,000. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,014,000. Mullaney Keating & Wright Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Chevron by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,463 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is an American multinational energy company engaged in virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry. As an integrated energy firm, Chevron’s core activities include upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production, midstream transportation and storage, downstream refining and marketing of fuels and lubricants, and petrochemical manufacturing through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The company markets fuels under brands such as Chevron, Texaco and Caltex and supplies a range of products and services to retail customers, industrial users and commercial fleets worldwide.

Chevron traces its corporate lineage to the early petroleum companies that eventually became Standard Oil of California and has evolved through significant mergers and restructurings, including the acquisitions of Gulf Oil and Texaco.