Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Down 2.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) fell 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $194.00 to $185.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Chevron traded as low as $137.29 and last traded at $139.99. 5,375,634 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 7,689,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.28.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CVX. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $1,422,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Chevron in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 204 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chevron Trading Down 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $156.26 and a 200 day moving average of $154.03. The company has a market cap of $240.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company posted $3.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.37%.

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.