Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) were up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $182.38 and last traded at $182.0930. 7,651,893 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 11,522,704 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research raised Chevron from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $216.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Chevron from $216.00 to $204.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Chevron from $204.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.83.

Chevron Stock Performance

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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $181.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.51. The company has a market capitalization of $362.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.50.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $47.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.86 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 6.90% and a net margin of 5.79%.Chevron’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In other news, Director John B. Hess sold 380,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 278,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,718,294. This represents a 57.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Chevron by 7.7% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 11,079 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 4,214 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chevron by 678.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chevron

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.