Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Down 2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Chevron's stock price fell 2% to $154.48 during mid-day trading, with an unusually low trading volume of about 2.15 million shares, down 77% from the average daily volume.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Chevron, with eleven giving a "Buy" rating and others maintaining "Hold" or "Sell" ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $163.95.
• Chevron recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.4%, and a payout ratio of 88.03% as the company reported a net margin of 7.02% in its latest quarterly earnings.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) shares dropped 2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $154.63 and last traded at $154.48. Approximately 2,155,476 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 9,243,936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Chevron from $186.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Chevron in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Chevron in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $163.95.

Chevron Price Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $153.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $265.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.90.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $44.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.59 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 9.90%. Chevron's revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Chevron's payout ratio is presently 88.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, Director John B. Hess sold 375,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.30, for a total value of $59,362,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,403,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,102,023.50. This represents a 21.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Alana K. Knowles sold 3,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $636,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $188,960. This represents a 77.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its holdings in Chevron by 652,139.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 83,714,936 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $13,214,757,000 after buying an additional 83,702,101 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,721,477,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,466,751,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,362,232,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Chevron by 21,191.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,408,248 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $904,746,000 after buying an additional 5,382,847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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