Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price was down 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $152.22 and last traded at $152.99. Approximately 2,211,176 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 7,501,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $154.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.91.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 EPS 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 in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.37%.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $1,422,062.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $334,000. SpringVest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at $270,000. Old North State Trust LLC grew its stake in Chevron by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 2,652 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chevron

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.