Chevron Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 54,357 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 52% compared to the typical daily volume of 35,823 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CVX. DZ Bank raised Chevron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Chevron from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Chevron from $168.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $205.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chevron currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.19.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $685,356.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marietta Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Chevron by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,484 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,965 shares during the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Chevron by 19.6% in the third quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 8,246 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,581,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,203,899 shares in the last quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Chevron by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 121,167 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $17,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Chevron by 0.6% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company's stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

CVX traded up $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $143.98. The stock had a trading volume of 4,485,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,823,994. The firm has a market capitalization of $258.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10. Chevron has a twelve month low of $135.37 and a twelve month high of $167.11. The company's 50-day moving average price is $154.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.67. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chevron will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

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

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.