Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by HSBC

HSBC downgraded shares of Chevron (NYSE:CVX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. HSBC currently has $158.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $176.00.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CVX. UBS Group dropped 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. Barclays downgraded Chevron from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $124.00 price target (down previously from $156.00) on shares of Chevron in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James dropped their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Chevron to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.24.

Chevron Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of CVX stock opened at $142.14 on Tuesday. Chevron has a 1-year low of $132.04 and a 1-year high of $168.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $146.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $248.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.83.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.03. Chevron had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $47.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Chevron will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 420.7% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 151 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Chevron in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.