Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 0.1% - Should You Sell?

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) dropped 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $142.90 and last traded at $143.76. Approximately 844,799 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 7,808,860 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CVX shares. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Chevron from $205.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Chevron from $168.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Chevron from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.19.

Chevron Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $154.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.67. 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 $258.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $50.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.05 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. Chevron's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total transaction of $26,357,398.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $685,356.40. The trade was a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,105,244 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $23,431,429,000 after purchasing an additional 874,962 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Chevron by 11.5% during 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,482,388 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,869,171,000 after buying an additional 672,244 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,200,188 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,610,645,000 after acquiring an additional 573,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Chevron by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 17,111,051 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,676,957,000 after acquiring an additional 501,969 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.