Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 3.6% – Should You Sell?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) traded down 3.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $177.76 and last traded at $180.4940. 10,159,668 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 11,775,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho increased their price target on Chevron from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Chevron from $216.00 to $204.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Chevron from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Chevron from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.70.

Chevron Stock Down 3.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $359.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $188.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.26.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $47.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.86 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 6.90% and a net margin of 5.79%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.18 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 123.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John B. Hess sold 380,000 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.20, for a total value of $73,416,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 278,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,718,294. This trade represents a 57.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 40,200 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.30, for a total value of $8,574,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,842,485.40. This trade represents a 82.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 615,200 shares of company stock valued at $118,022,760. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Karpus Management Inc. purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 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.