Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) fell 1.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $177.10 and last traded at $177.4440. Approximately 8,421,041 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 11,702,611 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CVX. UBS Group boosted their price target on Chevron from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $179.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Chevron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Chevron from $216.00 to $204.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.70.

Chevron Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.05. The firm has a market cap of $345.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.48.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $47.56 billion for 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 15.88 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 123.40%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other news, Director John B. Hess sold 380,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 directly owned 278,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,718,294. This represents a 57.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 40,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.30, for a total transaction of $8,574,660.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,842,485.40. The trade was a 82.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 615,200 shares of company stock worth $118,022,760 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 83,265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,690,000 after buying an additional 10,822 shares during the period. Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new position in Chevron in the third quarter worth approximately $431,000. Clear Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,167,000. Finemark National Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Chevron by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Finemark National Bank & Trust now owns 56,535 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,779,000 after acquiring an additional 16,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curtis Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,381,000. 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.