Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 0.8% – What’s Next?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price shot up 0.8% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $138.54 and last traded at $136.74. 2,338,110 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 7,857,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Chevron from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $143.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Chevron to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.50.

Chevron Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.69. The stock has a market cap of $236.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. On average, 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 was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.37%.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In other Chevron 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 value of $1,422,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. Allianz SE acquired a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,369,000. Nicholas Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 80,025 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,591,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 179,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,755 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Chevron by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,205,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,817,000 after purchasing an additional 52,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth about $594,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.