Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 2% – Should You Sell?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price fell 2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $153.92 and last traded at $154.35. 2,118,027 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 7,439,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.13.

Chevron Trading Down 2.3 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.86. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $271.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued 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 return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 EPS 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 paid a $1.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is 70.37%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 trade represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in Chevron by 8.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 8,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its position in Chevron by 5.2% during the third quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 4,641 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 135.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 4,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 2,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.