Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) Short Interest Up 10.1% in August

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,440,000 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the August 15th total of 14,020,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Chevron Price Performance

CVX traded up $0.72 during trading on Monday, reaching $167.22. The stock had a trading volume of 6,828,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,000,087. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $160.80 and a 200-day moving average of $160.15. Chevron has a one year low of $140.46 and a one year high of $189.68. The stock has a market cap of $312.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.18.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $48.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.54%. The company’s revenue was down 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Chevron will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Chevron’s payout ratio is 38.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Mizuho raised their price target on Chevron from $209.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Chevron from $197.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Chevron from $202.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chevron news, CFO Pierre R. Breber sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.00, for a total value of $4,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,021 shares in the company, valued at $987,444. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 3,750 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.88, for a total value of $603,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,391.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Pierre R. Breber sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.00, for a total transaction of $4,100,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,021 shares in the company, valued at $987,444. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVX. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P grew its holdings in Chevron by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 159,115 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,908,000 after acquiring an additional 73,141 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 7,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Chevron by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 40,538 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,837 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Chevron by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,068,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $336,830,000 after buying an additional 250,840 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.87% of the company’s stock.

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; liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and processing, transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.