Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $169.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James decreased 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Chevron from $194.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Chevron from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th.

Chevron Trading Down 0.6 %

Chevron stock opened at $134.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.69. Chevron has a 52 week low of $132.04 and a 52 week high of $168.96. The stock has a market cap of $236.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.36). Chevron had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Chevron will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $1,422,062.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMB Wealth Management grew its holdings in Chevron by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. FMB Wealth Management now owns 8,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 3,892 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Chevron by 162.4% in the first quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 3,655 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group increased its stake in Chevron by 31.0% during the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 2.8% during the first quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 32,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 6.6% in the first quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 15,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. 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.