Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 0.6%

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price was up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $161.77 and last traded at $160.57. Approximately 2,166,443 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 8,368,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CVX shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on Chevron from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $184.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 8th. DZ Bank lowered Chevron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Chevron in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $203.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.35.

Chevron Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $299.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The oil and gas company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Chevron had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 10.21%. The business had revenue of $48.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.98%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In related news, VP Alana K. Knowles sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.09, for a total value of $448,252.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,184.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its position in Chevron by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 22,695 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,580,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Chevron by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 249,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,283,000 after purchasing an additional 12,126 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in Chevron by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 29,007 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. Stack Financial Management Inc boosted its holdings in Chevron by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. Stack Financial Management Inc now owns 283,936 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $44,788,000 after purchasing an additional 67,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in Chevron by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 996,413 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $157,174,000 after purchasing an additional 45,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.