Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Still a Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price shot up 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $159.90 and last traded at $159.12. 1,498,464 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 7,320,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America initiated coverage on Chevron in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.27.

Chevron Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.06. 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 $290.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.12.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total transaction of $26,357,398.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $685,356.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its position in Chevron by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Company Profile

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.