Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shares dropped 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $173.90 and last traded at $174.05. Approximately 6,565,375 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 11,596,687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.97.

Key Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rising Middle East tensions are pushing crude higher, which can improve Chevron’s upstream profits and make the stock look more attractive as a geopolitical hedge. With Iran Tensions Heating Up Again, Chevron Stock Looks Enticing
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish commentary from Bank of America and other analysts suggests Chevron is well positioned to benefit if Iran-related supply disruptions keep oil prices elevated. CVX Stock Has A New Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron announced a five-year gas supply deal with Australia’s Alinta Energy, adding a stable long-term sales stream and reinforcing its gas business. Chevron Australia signs five-year gas supply agreement with Alinta Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron also expanded its technology/licensing efforts and its Microsoft power partnership, which could support long-term growth beyond oil and gas pricing. Can Chevron’s Microsoft Partnership Power the Next Leg of Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating, which may help sentiment but does not by itself change Chevron’s fundamentals. UBS Keeps Their Buy Rating on Chevron (CVX)
• Negative Sentiment: New U.S. Russia sanctions proposals could tighten global energy trade flows and add policy uncertainty, even if they may also support oil prices. Bipartisan Senators Reach Agreement With Trump Administration to Advance New Russia Sanctions Bill

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $204.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Chevron from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. HSBC upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Chevron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.83.

Chevron Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $351.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $181.92 and its 200-day moving average is $181.29.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $47.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 6.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Chevron’s payout ratio is 123.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other news, Director John B. Hess sold 380,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.20, for a total transaction of $73,416,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 278,045 shares in the company, valued at $53,718,294. This trade represents a 57.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Bank increased its position in shares of Chevron by 7.7% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 11,079 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Chevron by 9.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 50,839 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,280,000 after buying an additional 4,214 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas grew its holdings in shares of Chevron by 76.4% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Chevron by 678.9% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,363 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 3.6% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 16,052 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,299,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.