Chevron Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 102,363 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 174% compared to the typical daily volume of 37,331 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CVX. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chevron presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.13.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVX opened at $156.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.11. Chevron has a 12 month low of $135.37 and a 12 month high of $167.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $151.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.36). Chevron had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Chevron will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is 67.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value 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. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Chevron by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,105,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,431,429,000 after acquiring an additional 874,962 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 36,269,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,247,142,000 after buying an additional 392,916 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,855,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,613,960,000 after buying an additional 746,806 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,017,750,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,892,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,881,280,000 after purchasing an additional 410,460 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.