Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Up 0.5% - Should You Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $162.30 and last traded at $162.14. 1,498,411 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 7,624,411 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CVX. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Chevron in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Chevron from $196.00 to $169.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Chevron from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Chevron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.93.

Chevron Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm's 50 day moving average is $150.70 and its 200-day moving average is $152.63. 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 market cap of $291.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.09.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. Chevron had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Chevron's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.65%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $685,356.40. This trade represents a 97.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 4,876,260 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in Chevron by 15,750.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,901,345 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $574,551,000 after buying an additional 3,876,731 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 3,456,008 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Chevron by 11.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,108,760 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,581,137,000 after buying an additional 3,203,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Chevron by 55.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,537,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,335,492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,048,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company's stock.

Chevron Company Profile

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.

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