Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Chevron (NYSE:CVX)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 156,195 Chevron call options on Monday, more than double the average volume and a 101% increase from normal levels, signaling heightened bullish bets.
• Analyst sentiment is positive: Several firms recently raised price targets or upgraded Chevron, and MarketBeat reports a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $204.13.
• Strong fundamentals and income support: Chevron beat earnings expectations with $1.41 EPS in its latest quarter and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% annual yield.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 156,195 call options on the company. This is an increase of 101% compared to the average volume of 77,746 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CVX. Citigroup raised their price target on Chevron from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Mizuho raised their price target on Chevron from $206.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research raised Chevron from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Chevron from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $176.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $216.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.13.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other news, Director John B. Hess sold 195,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.78, for a total transaction of $36,032,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 658,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $121,593,555.10. This trade represents a 22.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 11,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.58, for a total value of $2,187,528.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 803,570 shares of company stock valued at $151,969,798. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVX. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,079 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Chevron by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 50,839 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,280,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214 shares during the period. BNP Paribas boosted its position in Chevron by 76.4% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 441 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Chevron by 678.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,363 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Chevron by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 16,052 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,299,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company's stock.

Chevron Price Performance

NYSE:CVX traded up $4.98 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $196.08. 9,839,278 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,276,852. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $193.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.52 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.51. Chevron has a 1-year low of $133.77 and a 1-year high of $214.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $47.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.86 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 6.90% and a net margin of 5.79%.Chevron's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Chevron will post 15.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Chevron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.40%.

More Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron agreed to divest certain Asia-Pacific downstream assets to ENEOS for roughly $2.2 billion, a move that could improve portfolio focus and capital efficiency. Chevron to Divest Some Asia-Pacific Assets to Japan's Eneos
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron CEO Mike Wirth’s warning about potential physical oil shortages has reinforced the bullish case for upstream energy producers if supply tightens further. Chevron’s CEO Just Warned of Physical Oil Shortages
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call buying in Chevron signals increased bullish options activity and trader expectations for further upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles note Chevron is drawing strong attention from investors and analysts, which may reflect growing interest rather than a direct catalyst. Is Chevron (CVX) a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic?
• Neutral Sentiment: Chevron is also being highlighted as a trending stock and possible dividend play, but these pieces are more commentary than new company-specific news. Chevron Corporation (CVX) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It Is Chevron (CVX) One of the Best Rising Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now?

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation NYSE: CVX is an American multinational energy company engaged in virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry. As an integrated energy firm, Chevron's core activities include upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production, midstream transportation and storage, downstream refining and marketing of fuels and lubricants, and petrochemical manufacturing through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The company markets fuels under brands such as Chevron, Texaco and Caltex and supplies a range of products and services to retail customers, industrial users and commercial fleets worldwide.

Chevron traces its corporate lineage to the early petroleum companies that eventually became Standard Oil of California and has evolved through significant mergers and restructurings, including the acquisitions of Gulf Oil and Texaco.

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