Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Down 0.2% - Here's Why

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $134.70 and last traded at $135.37. 2,179,996 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 7,960,032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CVX. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Chevron from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered Chevron from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $152.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas cut shares of Chevron to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic restated a "sell" rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (down from $156.00) on shares of Chevron in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.25.

Chevron Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $148.95 and its 200 day moving average is $152.34. The company has a market cap of $238.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.03. Chevron had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The company had revenue of $47.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. Chevron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVX. Allianz SE bought a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,369,000. Nicholas Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chevron by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 80,025 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $11,591,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its position in Chevron by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 179,815 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,755 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,205,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $174,817,000 after acquiring an additional 52,307 shares during the period. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter worth about $594,000. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company's stock.

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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