Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading 1.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price shot up 1.3% during trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $171.00 to $188.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Chevron traded as high as $159.16 and last traded at $159.05. 2,440,501 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 7,625,993 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.08.

Several other research firms have also commented on CVX. Bank of America began coverage on Chevron in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total value of $26,357,398.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,356.40. This trade represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc raised its position in Chevron by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 454 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Chevron by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Chevron by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,769 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC raised its position in Chevron by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 9,033 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $280.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $155.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.41.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $50.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.54 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.65%.

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.