Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 2.2% – What’s Next?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price traded down 2.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $148.80 and last traded at $148.62. 2,030,437 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 7,265,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CVX. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chevron has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.13.

Chevron Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $153.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.61. 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 has a market cap of $265.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 70.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Chevron in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.