Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading 0.8% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s share price shot up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $157.83 and last traded at $157.45. 1,046,935 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 7,297,087 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CVX. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chevron has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $282.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.11. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.81.

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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $1,422,062.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This trade represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Chevron by 14.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 223,561 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,924,000 after purchasing an additional 27,483 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Chevron by 1.5% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 183,558 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,032,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its position in Chevron by 0.5% during the third quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 38,533 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,675,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Chevron by 3.4% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 14,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,109,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterway Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,077 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 358 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.