Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 2.2% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) fell 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $148.80 and last traded at $148.62. 2,030,437 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 7,265,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CVX. Raymond James decreased their target price on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $265.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.61.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.36). Chevron had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.71%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. This is an increase from Chevron's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Chevron's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $1,422,062.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chevron during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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