Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $156.08 and last traded at $156.39. 1,568,206 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 7,439,311 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Chevron from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on Chevron from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.27.

Chevron Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.16. The company has a market cap of $280.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $50.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total value of $26,357,398.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,356.40. The trade was a 97.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marietta Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 10.9% in the third quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,962,000 after buying an additional 3,965 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 19.6% during the third quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 8,246 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Chevron by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,108,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,581,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,203,899 shares during the period. RPG Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Chevron by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 121,167 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,933 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,105,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,431,429,000 after purchasing an additional 874,962 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Company Profile

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.