Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 1.3% – Here’s Why

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shares dropped 1.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $207.12 and last traded at $208.48. Approximately 5,387,652 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 10,650,040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.32.

More Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron’s planned investment of more than $7 billion in Venezuela is expected to expand production to approximately 600,000 barrels per day over five years. Investors view the Orinoco Belt opportunity as a potential source of significant production growth and attractive economics. Chevron Commits $7 Billion to Venezuela to Double Production
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and fund managers remain constructive on Chevron, citing its scale, strong fundamentals, production growth following the Hess acquisition, dividend record and long-term exposure to energy demand. Rising crude prices above $90 per barrel have also supported sentiment toward major oil companies. Why Gabelli Remains Bullish on Chevron
• Positive Sentiment: A preliminary agreement covering Ghana’s South Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block could provide Chevron with another international growth option, although commercial terms and ownership details have not been finalized. Chevron and Shell Sign Preliminary Ghana Agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Chevron’s dividend remains a key attraction, with 39 consecutive years of increases. However, its sustainability would be tested if oil prices fall materially from current elevated levels. Chevron’s Dividend and Oil Price Risk
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that the Venezuela strategy will require substantial capital, face operational challenges and carry elevated political and execution risk. Critics also question whether the expansion can deliver its projected returns. Capital Requirements and Operational Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns have become more important after the rally: Chevron is trading near the upper end of its recent range, while reported insider activity has consisted of sales rather than purchases. A decline in oil prices could further pressure earnings and the stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVX has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho set a $224.00 price target on Chevron in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Chevron in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Chevron from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Chevron from $216.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.35.

Chevron Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $411.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $191.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.77.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $67.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.72 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 11.09%. Chevron’s revenue was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 16.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 68.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew Walz sold 16,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total transaction of $3,377,808.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814.84. The trade was a 99.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider R. Pate sold 2,470 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.11, for a total value of $506,621.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,794 shares in the company, valued at $2,213,957.34. The trade was a 18.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,152,582 shares of company stock valued at $225,853,661. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 19,425.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 432,663,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $71,718,374,000 after buying an additional 430,448,040 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Chevron during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,663,729,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Chevron by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 152,605,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,698,184,000 after acquiring an additional 12,789,399 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its position in Chevron by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 130,156,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,837,131,000 after acquiring an additional 8,091,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Chevron by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,613,011 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,620,187,000 after acquiring an additional 134,890 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Company Profile

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.