Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shares traded down 1.1% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $218.05 and last traded at $219.5140. 6,948,770 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 10,431,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.04.

Key Stories Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Chevron from $218 to $226 and assigned an “overweight” rating, suggesting continued confidence in the company’s valuation and outlook. Morgan Stanley analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings expectations are strong. Wall Street anticipates a triple-digit increase in Chevron’s bottom line compared with the prior-year period, creating a potential near-term catalyst when results are released later this month. Chevron earnings expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron continues to attract income-focused investors. The company is among the major holdings of the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, while its integrated business model and diversified operations support its reputation as a dividend stock. Dividend ETF holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Chevron’s valuation is drawing mixed reviews. Some analysis finds the stock reasonably supported by cash-flow value and long-term fundamentals, while other commentary says its recent rally may have pushed shares ahead of their underlying value. Chevron cash flow valuation
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Mike Wirth warned that oil-market safety buffers have been depleted. Commercial inventories, emergency reserves and previously sanctioned supply have reportedly been tapped following geopolitical disruptions. That raises the risk of additional volatility and prolonged diesel-price pressure, potentially weighing on economic activity and energy demand. Chevron CEO oil market warning

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CVX. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Chevron from $240.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Chevron from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $190.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Chevron from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.42.

Chevron Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $206.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.23. The firm has a market cap of $433.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.53.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.51. Chevron had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $67.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 17.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 68.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other news, insider Andrew Walz sold 16,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total transaction of $3,377,808.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814.84. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Hess sold 710,665 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $137,940,076.50. Following the sale, the director owned 363,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,596,305.10. This trade represents a 66.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,152,582 shares of company stock valued at $225,853,661 over the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 26.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,432,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $293,424,000 after purchasing an additional 304,098 shares in the last quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Chevron by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,893 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,879,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 255,534 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $53,633,000 after buying an additional 27,287 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Trust Co raised its position in shares of Chevron by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 20,241 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.