Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $173.53.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 cut their target price on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Chevron from $194.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allianz SE bought a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $9,369,000. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chevron by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 80,025 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,591,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,205,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,817,000 after buying an additional 52,307 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 179,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,044,000 after buying an additional 2,755 shares during the period. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $594,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Trading Down 7.6 %

Chevron stock opened at $134.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $155.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. Chevron has a 52 week low of $133.45 and a 52 week high of $168.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued 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 previous year, the company posted $3.45 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Chevron will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.