Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading 1.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price shot up 1.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $155.78 and last traded at $155.78. 1,253,115 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 7,564,044 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CVX. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $154.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.92. The company has a market cap of $276.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 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 company posted $3.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. This is an increase 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. State Street Corp boosted its position in Chevron by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,105,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,431,429,000 after purchasing an additional 874,962 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 36,269,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,247,142,000 after purchasing an additional 392,916 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,855,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,613,960,000 after purchasing an additional 746,806 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter worth about $3,017,750,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 20,471,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,965,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394,091 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

About Chevron

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.