Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 0.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) were down 0.5% during trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $174.00 to $171.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Chevron traded as low as $152.12 and last traded at $152.21. Approximately 1,922,592 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 7,718,407 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.99.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America started coverage on Chevron in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chevron has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total transaction of $26,357,398.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,356.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,105,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,431,429,000 after buying an additional 874,962 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,881,280,000 after buying an additional 410,460 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,200,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,610,645,000 after buying an additional 573,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,496,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,389,380,000 after buying an additional 2,432,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $272.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $152.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.90.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 11.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is 67.08%.

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.