Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Down 2.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 2.3% on Monday after Scotiabank downgraded the stock from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating. Scotiabank now has a $143.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $160.00. Chevron traded as low as $137.29 and last traded at $139.99. 5,375,634 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 7,689,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.28.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.20.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This trade represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. TFB Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Chevron by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 4,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Chevron by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 15,240 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chevron by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,416 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 517 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Stock Performance

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 business has a 50 day moving average of $155.70 and a 200 day moving average of $153.87. The company has a market capitalization of $236.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 business earned $3.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Chevron's payout ratio is 70.37%.

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.