Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Up 2% – Here’s What Happened

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shot up 2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $189.97 and last traded at $189.78. 13,469,999 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 12,105,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.03.

More Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oil-price rally and geopolitical supply risk are boosting margins for integrated producers — higher crude and physical supply frictions (Strait of Hormuz, tanker insurance costs) favor large, diversified majors like Chevron. Oil Prices Above $75: 4 Key Players to Watch
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street framing Chevron as geopolitical insurance has lifted investor demand and helped drive upgrades/target hikes across brokerages. Why Wall Street Is Treating Oil Major Chevron as Geopolitical Insurance
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst price?target increases (including a reported raise toward ~$210) and continued institutional interest are providing conviction behind the move higher. Price Target Raised to $210
• Neutral Sentiment: Selected buy?lists and sector roundups name Chevron as a candidate for March buying amid market volatility, but these curated picks are not a consensus catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by senior executives (including CEO Michael Wirth and other officers) has been disclosed this week — large, concentrated sales can prompt short?term profit?taking and investor caution. Insider selling report
• Negative Sentiment: Operational risk: Chevron suspended Leviathan gas production amid regional security orders — that reduces near?term volumes from that asset and highlights localized outage risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory exposure: Chevron warned California regulators that proposed carbon?cap amendments could threaten state refinery economics — a potential longer?term drag on downstream earnings if enacted. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CVX shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC downgraded Chevron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chevron from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Chevron from $204.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.95.

Chevron Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $378.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.28.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $45.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.18 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Chevron’s payout ratio is 106.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 58,000 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.65, for a total transaction of $10,941,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,614,466.70. The trade was a 87.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 22,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.53, for a total value of $3,918,966.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 666 shares in the company, valued at $117,568.98. This trade represents a 97.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,052,197 shares of company stock valued at $187,128,404. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Karpus Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 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.