Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 0.7% - Here's What Happened

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $135.65 and last traded at $136.36. Approximately 3,484,286 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 7,921,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Chevron to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $124.00 price objective (down previously from $156.00) on shares of Chevron in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lowered Chevron from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $143.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $165.71.

Chevron Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $239.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.22.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. This is a positive change from Chevron's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $1,422,062.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at $161,192.50. This trade represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Chevron by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 36,269,270 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,247,142,000 after buying an additional 392,916 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Chevron by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,855,566 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,613,960,000 after purchasing an additional 746,806 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,017,750,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 20,471,800 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,965,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Chevron by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,892,848 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,881,280,000 after purchasing an additional 410,460 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently 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.

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