Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 5.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) dropped 5.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $145.21 and last traded at $148.03. Approximately 4,845,042 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 7,642,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CVX. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.13.

Chevron Stock 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 company has a market cap of $251.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $157.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.18.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s payout ratio is 70.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Chevron by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 36,269,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,247,142,000 after buying an additional 392,916 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,855,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,613,960,000 after purchasing an additional 746,806 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,017,750,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Chevron by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 20,471,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,965,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Chevron by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,892,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,881,280,000 after purchasing an additional 410,460 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.