Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 0.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) were down 0.9% during trading on Thursday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $184.00 to $173.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Chevron traded as low as $142.73 and last traded at $142.80. Approximately 2,936,140 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 7,694,600 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.08.

CVX has been the topic of several other reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Chevron from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America started coverage on Chevron in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Chevron from $205.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $685,356.40. This trade represents a 97.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 23,334 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC lifted its position in Chevron by 3.1% in the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. First National Bank of Hutchinson bought a new position in Chevron during the 2nd quarter valued at $235,000. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Chevron by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 114,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,941,000 after purchasing an additional 3,724 shares during the period. Finally, Fullcircle Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 2nd quarter worth $1,473,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $154.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.95. The firm has a market cap of $256.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. Chevron’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.65%.

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.