Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Jumps 1.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) rose 1.5% on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $244.00 to $248.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Chevron traded as high as $219.91 and last traded at $219.5570. 7,402,267 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 10,219,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.35.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on CVX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Chevron from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho set a $234.00 price objective on Chevron in a research note on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Chevron from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.96.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In related news, insider R. Pate sold 40,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.65, for a total value of $9,224,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,992,480.15. This represents a 82.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Vice Chairman Mark Nelson sold 112,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.48, for a total value of $23,573,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,451,460.56. The trade was a 90.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 174,370 shares of company stock worth $37,224,309. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Chevron News Summary

These are some of the CVX news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron plans to restart its Ralston, Iowa, biodiesel facility with Landus Cooperative supplying feedstock. The plant is expected to restore nearly 42 million gallons of annual capacity, supporting the company’s U.S. renewable-fuels strategy. Article: What’s Going on with Chevron Shares on Friday?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent third-quarter coverage highlighted a sharp profit increase driven by refining: adjusted earnings nearly tripled to $10.4 billion, with downstream earnings up 333% and refinery utilization at 98%. Strong refining margins and cash flow helped offset weaker production. Article: Chevron’s Production Fell. Its Profit Nearly Tripled.
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $248 from $244 but kept an “equal weight” rating, indicating a higher valuation estimate without a more bullish recommendation. Article: Barclays Stock Recommendations

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVX. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Chevron by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 154,437,187 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,537,618,000 after acquiring an additional 5,989,553 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 2nd quarter worth $25,663,729,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Chevron by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,630,227 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,716,694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,976 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 12,185,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,521,166,000 after purchasing an additional 349,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Chevron during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,378,114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $431.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.87 by $0.41. Chevron had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 11.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 36.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 18.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations include oil and gas exploration and production, while its downstream business includes refining crude oil, marketing fuels and manufacturing and distributing lubricants, petrochemicals and fuel additives. The company also invests in lower-carbon businesses and technologies, including renewable fuels, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and other opportunities intended to reduce emissions from its operations and energy products.