Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Chevron (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 54,357 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 52% compared to the typical volume of 35,823 put options.

Chevron Trading Up 0.1 %

CVX stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $143.98. 4,470,064 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,823,820. The company has a market cap of $258.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, 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 quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $154.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.67. Chevron has a one year low of $135.37 and a one year high of $167.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Chevron will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.65%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total value of $26,357,398.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,356.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tacita Capital Inc raised its holdings in Chevron by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 454 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Chevron by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,769 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,911,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 9,033 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lowered 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. DZ Bank raised shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Chevron in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.19.

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.