Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Melius Research

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $205.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock. Melius Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.62% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CVX. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Freedom Capital lowered Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Chevron in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $176.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.36.

Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of CVX stock opened at $183.65 on Tuesday. Chevron has a 1 year low of $132.04 and a 1 year high of $186.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $369.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $163.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.68.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $45.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.18 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 6.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Chevron will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In related news, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 41,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.40, for a total transaction of $7,256,037.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $735,411.60. This trade represents a 90.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.53, for a total value of $3,918,966.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,568.98. This represents a 97.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 793,163 shares of company stock valued at $127,920,502. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CVX. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Karpus Management Inc. acquired a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chevron by 197.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.