Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Should You Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) traded up 0.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $158.98 and last traded at $158.31. 1,548,795 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 7,552,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.13.

Chevron Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $283.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.23.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.71%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 70.37%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. Wallace Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Chevron by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 4,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Chevron by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 15,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Chevron by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,416 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,943,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.