Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Up 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shares traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $201.63 and last traded at $199.9880. 7,700,971 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 10,927,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on CVX shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $210.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Chevron in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $207.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Chevron from $168.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho set a $224.00 price target on Chevron in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.48.

Chevron Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.88. The company has a market capitalization of $395.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.51. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 68.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 5,547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.00, for a total value of $1,037,289.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,596. This trade represents a 17.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John B. Hess sold 100,000 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.26, for a total value of $19,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 178,045 shares in the company, valued at $34,587,021.70. This represents a 35.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,196,212 shares of company stock worth $231,819,366. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron in the second quarter worth approximately $25,663,729,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Chevron by 9.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 152,605,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,698,184,000 after purchasing an additional 12,789,399 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its position in Chevron by 6.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 8,091,570 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Chevron by 0.3% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 134,890 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Chevron by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,036,844 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,492,377,000 after buying an additional 961,341 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.