Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 1.2% – Should You Sell?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price was down 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $147.08 and last traded at $147.6910. Approximately 6,868,158 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 8,829,536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CVX shares. Melius Research began coverage on Chevron in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Chevron from $204.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Chevron from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.00.

Chevron Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $152.41 and its 200 day moving average is $152.33. The stock has a market cap of $297.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.68.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $48.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.99 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 6.57% and a return on equity of 8.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 96.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John B. Hess sold 275,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.75, for a total value of $41,456,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,128,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,052,783.75. This represents a 19.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its stake in Chevron by 652,139.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 83,714,936 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,214,757,000 after purchasing an additional 83,702,101 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Chevron by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 183,790,028 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,540,753,000 after acquiring an additional 27,961,463 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Chevron in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,721,477,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 152,605,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,698,184,000 after purchasing an additional 12,789,399 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron during the third quarter worth $988,083,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.