Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) were down 1.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $207.12 and last traded at $208.48. Approximately 5,387,652 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 10,650,040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.32.

Key Stories Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron plans to invest more than $7 billion in Venezuela and aims to roughly double production from its joint ventures to approximately 600,000 barrels per day within five years. The expansion gives CVX access to substantial Orinoco Belt resources and could provide production growth and attractive economics if political conditions remain stable. Chevron Venezuela Orinoco Belt expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Investors and analysts continue to highlight Chevron’s long-term strengths, including production growth from the Hess acquisition, a nearly four-decade record of annual dividend increases and potential support from elevated crude prices. Recent commentary also characterizes the shares as relatively attractive for long-term investors. Why Chevron is a top stock for the long term
• Positive Sentiment: A preliminary agreement covering Ghana’s South Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block could add another offshore growth option, although commercial terms and ownership details have not been finalized. Chevron and Shell Ghana agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: The Venezuela announcement is strategically significant but remains dependent on regulatory approvals, operating execution, infrastructure investment and the durability of U.S.-Venezuela relations. Analysts also caution that the agreement should not be confused with a separate U.S.-backed Venezuelan oil venture.
• Negative Sentiment: Critics point to Chevron’s high capital requirements and operational challenges. The $7 billion investment could pressure returns if production ramps slowly, costs rise or oil prices weaken. Lower crude prices would also test the sustainability of Chevron’s dividend and reduce the value of new production. Chevron capital requirements and operational challenges
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity has consisted largely of sales, including transactions by senior executives, which may add near-term caution after the rally, though insider sales do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s fundamentals.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $216.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Chevron from $207.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut Chevron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.35.

Chevron Trading Down 1.3%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $411.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.51. Chevron had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 9.57%.The firm had revenue of $67.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 16.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.26%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. 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 value of $63,565,866.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,273,701.68. This trade represents a 92.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider R. Pate sold 2,470 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.11, for a total transaction of $506,621.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,213,957.34. This represents a 18.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,152,582 shares of company stock valued at $225,853,661 in the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank increased its holdings in Chevron by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,079 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 9.0% in 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 during the period. BNP Paribas grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 76.4% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 678.9% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 16,052 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.