Investors Buy Large Volume of Chevron Call Options (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 102,363 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 174% compared to the typical daily volume of 37,331 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James cut their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of CVX opened at $155.32 on Friday. 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 $279.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $151.86 and a 200 day moving average of $150.87. Chevron has a 12 month low of $135.37 and a 12 month high of $167.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Chevron will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.08%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Chevron in the fourth quarter worth $3,017,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Chevron in the fourth quarter worth $1,036,302,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 19,404.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,901,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,218,280,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876,260 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 15,750.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,901,345 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $574,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876,731 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 949.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,819,963 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $562,566,000 after acquiring an additional 3,456,008 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.