Chevron Corporation $CVX Stock: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,935 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 125,691 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $5,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Chevron by 49.6% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 181 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Burk Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Chevron in the second quarter worth $42,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:CVX opened at $216.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $425.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.47. Chevron Corporation has a twelve month low of $146.49 and a twelve month high of $236.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.33.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.87 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $65.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.82 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 36.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Chevron Corporation will post 18.64 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CVX shares. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Chevron from $206.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $248.00 to $233.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Chevron from $216.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Chevron from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.81.

Trending Headlines about Chevron

Here are a few of the latest headlines about CVX:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron’s third-quarter adjusted profit nearly tripled to $10.4 billion. Strong refining margins lifted downstream earnings 333%, and refineries ran at 98% capacity, helping offset a 2.6% decline in production. Coverage also cited record U.S. refinery throughput, strong cash flow and rising estimates. Article: Chevron’s Production Fell. Its Profit Nearly Tripled.
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron plans to restart its Ralston biodiesel facility in Iowa, supported by a feedstock supply agreement with Landus Cooperative. The move could add to its renewable-fuels activity, though the articles provided no financial contribution estimates. Article: Chevron to Restart Ralston Biodiesel Facility in Iowa
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein cut its price target to $233 from $248 and maintained a “market perform” rating, signaling less upside in its updated view. Article: Bernstein Lowers Chevron Price Target

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew Walz sold 16,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total value of $3,377,808.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814.84. This represents a 99.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Pate sold 40,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.65, for a total value of $9,224,655.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,992,480.15. This represents a 82.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 174,370 shares of company stock valued at $37,224,309. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations include oil and gas exploration and production, while its downstream business includes refining crude oil, marketing fuels and manufacturing and distributing lubricants, petrochemicals and fuel additives. The company also invests in lower-carbon businesses and technologies, including renewable fuels, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and other opportunities intended to reduce emissions from its operations and energy products.