Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 0.6% - Should You Sell?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $157.22 and last traded at $157.68. 1,411,192 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 7,166,705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CVX. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.13.

Chevron Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $269.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Chevron's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron's dividend payout ratio is 70.37%.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CVX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter worth $3,017,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter worth $1,036,302,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Chevron by 949.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,819,963 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $562,566,000 after acquiring an additional 3,456,008 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Chevron by 11.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,203,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Chevron by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,496,687 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,389,380,000 after acquiring an additional 2,432,756 shares in the last quarter. 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.