Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Up 1.2% - Should You Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) shot up 1.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $145.34 and last traded at $144.84. 6,132,790 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 7,800,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $205.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Chevron from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Chevron from $168.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.19.

Chevron Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $260.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10. The company's fifty day moving average price is $153.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.05 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Chevron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.65%.

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 in the company, valued at $685,356.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Chevron by 3.2% during the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,011 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,389,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Syntax Research Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 814.3% in the 3rd quarter. Syntax Research Inc. now owns 25,428 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,745,000 after purchasing an additional 22,647 shares during the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 55,072 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Chevron during the third quarter valued at approximately $814,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its holdings in Chevron by 19.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 50,868 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,491,000 after buying an additional 8,445 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.