Investors Buy High Volume of Chevron Call Options (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 261,027 call options on the company. This is an increase of 464% compared to the average volume of 46,313 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Enrique Hernandez, Jr. sold 2,549 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.24, for a total transaction of $421,196.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,725 shares in the company, valued at $4,581,279. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Chevron news, Director Enrique Hernandez, Jr. sold 5,098 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.50, for a total transaction of $833,523.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $416,761.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Enrique Hernandez, Jr. sold 2,549 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.24, for a total transaction of $421,196.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,725 shares in the company, valued at $4,581,279. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,796 shares of company stock valued at $2,575,361 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 403.2% in the 1st quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Chevron in the third quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 80.0% in the third quarter. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV now owns 180 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of CVX traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,512,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,331,380. The stock's 50-day moving average is $158.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.23. Chevron has a one year low of $139.62 and a one year high of $171.70.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The oil and gas company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Chevron had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $48.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.55 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chevron will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Chevron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised Chevron from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Chevron from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Chevron from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.10.

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.

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