Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 2.5% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) traded up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $144.25 and last traded at $144.24. 2,551,690 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 8,106,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic reissued a "sell" rating and set a $124.00 price objective (down from $156.00) on shares of Chevron in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Chevron to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $194.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. HSBC lowered shares of Chevron from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $176.00 to $158.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.24.

Chevron Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $252.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50-day moving average is $138.21 and its 200-day moving average is $149.46. 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 earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $47.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.05 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. Chevron's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital & Planning LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 34,600 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,011,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter worth about $8,947,000. Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 39,102 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,664,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 286.7% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.