Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Up 2.3% – Time to Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s share price rose 2.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $159.77 and last traded at $159.97. Approximately 3,635,386 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 7,365,060 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup raised Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.13.

Chevron Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $154.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of Chevron 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth $140,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $260,000. TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth about $303,000. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Chevron by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 3,260 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,998 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.