West Family Investments Inc. Grows Position in Chevron Corporation $CVX

West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) by 68.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,766 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,164 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Chevron in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron plans to double the number of oil rigs it operates in Venezuela as part of a five-year growth strategy. The expansion is intended to lift production in the country toward approximately 600,000 barrels per day, adding potentially significant upstream growth. Chevron to double oil rigs in Venezuela as part of growth plan
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s planned investment of more than $7 billion over five years, including additional acreage in Venezuela’s Carabobo region, gives CVX a new production-growth avenue. Strong cash flow and expected Hess-related synergies could provide financial flexibility for the program. Chevron doubles down on Venezuela with a $7 billion oil bet
• Positive Sentiment: At the Barclays Energy-Power Conference, management highlighted the Venezuela expansion and broader production-growth plans. Analysts and market commentary continue to point to elevated energy prices, solid earnings and Chevron’s integrated business model as support for the shares. Chevron Barclays conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Chevron’s stock has risen sharply and is close to a record high. BMO remains constructive on the company, but investors must determine whether oil prices, earnings growth and operational improvements can justify further gains at current levels. Chevron’s record run isn’t over yet, BMO says
• Negative Sentiment: The Venezuela strategy carries execution, political and sanctions-related risks. The large capital commitment also raises the stakes if production targets are delayed or oil prices weaken, while the recent rally leaves less room for disappointing results. Chevron stock is near a record high

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on CVX shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Chevron in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Chevron from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $210.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Chevron from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 317,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.46, for a total value of $63,565,866.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,273,701.68. This trade represents a 92.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew Walz sold 16,800 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total value of $3,377,808.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814.84. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,152,582 shares of company stock valued at $225,853,661 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Chevron Trading Up 0.7%

Chevron stock traded up $1.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $210.09. 7,699,366 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,633,124. Chevron Corporation has a 52-week low of $146.49 and a 52-week high of $214.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.20. The company has a market capitalization of $415.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.51. Chevron had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The business had revenue of $67.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 16.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.26%.

Chevron Profile

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is an American multinational energy company engaged in virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry. As an integrated energy firm, Chevron’s core activities include upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production, midstream transportation and storage, downstream refining and marketing of fuels and lubricants, and petrochemical manufacturing through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The company markets fuels under brands such as Chevron, Texaco and Caltex and supplies a range of products and services to retail customers, industrial users and commercial fleets worldwide.

Chevron traces its corporate lineage to the early petroleum companies that eventually became Standard Oil of California and has evolved through significant mergers and restructurings, including the acquisitions of Gulf Oil and Texaco.