Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading 1.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s share price rose 1.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $201.63 and last traded at $199.9880. Approximately 7,700,971 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 10,927,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Chevron in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Chevron from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Dbs Bank upgraded Chevron to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $224.00 target price on Chevron in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.48.

Chevron Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $395.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.79.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $67.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.72 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 9.57%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is 68.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 5,547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.00, for a total value of $1,037,289.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,919,596. This represents a 17.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Hess sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.26, for a total value of $19,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 178,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,587,021.70. This trade represents a 35.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,196,212 shares of company stock valued at $231,819,366 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVX. Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its stake in Chevron by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chevron by 1.9% in the first quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC increased its position in shares of Chevron by 2.7% during the first quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,101 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Retirement LLC boosted its position in Chevron by 0.9% in the first quarter. Wealthspire Retirement LLC now owns 6,530 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its position in shares of Chevron by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 5,552 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Company Profile

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.