Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 3.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) were down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $227.42 and last traded at $227.9950. Approximately 9,010,977 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 10,286,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.52.

More Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets. UBS lifted its target from $235 to $265 and upgraded Chevron to “buy,” while Barclays raised its target from $208 to $244, although it maintained an “equal weight” rating. Chevron Analysts Raise Their Forecasts After Better-Than-Expected Q3 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter execution was strong. Chevron beat earnings expectations, benefiting from record U.S. refinery throughput, stronger refining margins, solid upstream production and higher crude prices. Management also highlighted disciplined capital allocation, potential Venezuela production growth and AI-supported reliability improvements. 5 revealing analyst questions from Chevron’s Q3 earnings call
• Positive Sentiment: Cash flow and shareholder returns remain supportive. Analysts expect the earnings beat to improve Chevron’s free-cash-flow outlook. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share, while ETFs recently purchased approximately $64 million of CVX stock. CVX Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Venezuela Growth and Refining Gains
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is increasing investment. Chevron plans to raise exploration spending by 50% and invest heavily in new frontier projects, including Venezuela-related opportunities. The spending could support long-term production but may limit near-term free cash flow and carries geopolitical risk. Chevron Raises Exploration Spending By 50%
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and valuation concerns are weighing on the shares. Chevron has gained roughly 59% this year and moved above many published price targets, prompting questions about whether the refining windfall is already reflected in the stock. Refining margins can be cyclical, and political criticism of major oil companies adds another headline risk. Chevron Is Up 59% This Year and Trades Above Its Price Target

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CVX. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Chevron from $216.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Chevron from $207.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. William Blair started coverage on Chevron in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Chevron from $230.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $241.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.46.

Chevron Trading Down 3.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $213.16 and its 200 day moving average is $193.07. The stock has a market cap of $450.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.87 by $0.41. Chevron had a return on equity of 14.64% and a net margin of 11.56%. The company had revenue of $65.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 68.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael Wirth sold 317,100 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.46, for a total transaction of $63,565,866.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,273,701.68. The trade was a 92.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Pate sold 40,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.65, for a total transaction of $9,224,655.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,791 shares in the company, valued at $1,992,480.15. This trade represents a 82.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 385,017 shares of company stock worth $78,253,704 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in Chevron in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 49.6% during the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 181 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations include oil and gas exploration and production, while its downstream business includes refining crude oil, marketing fuels and manufacturing and distributing lubricants, petrochemicals and fuel additives.

The company also invests in lower-carbon businesses and technologies, including renewable fuels, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and other opportunities intended to reduce emissions from its operations and energy products.