Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading 1.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price was up 1.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $176.42 and last traded at $176.2920. Approximately 5,961,238 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 11,565,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.05.

Key Headlines Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rising Middle East tensions are pushing crude higher, which can improve Chevron’s upstream profits and make the stock look more attractive as a geopolitical hedge. With Iran Tensions Heating Up Again, Chevron Stock Looks Enticing
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish commentary from Bank of America and other analysts suggests Chevron is well positioned to benefit if Iran-related supply disruptions keep oil prices elevated. CVX Stock Has A New Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron announced a five-year gas supply deal with Australia’s Alinta Energy, adding a stable long-term sales stream and reinforcing its gas business. Chevron Australia signs five-year gas supply agreement with Alinta Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron also expanded its technology/licensing efforts and its Microsoft power partnership, which could support long-term growth beyond oil and gas pricing. Can Chevron’s Microsoft Partnership Power the Next Leg of Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating, which may help sentiment but does not by itself change Chevron’s fundamentals. UBS Keeps Their Buy Rating on Chevron (CVX)
• Negative Sentiment: New U.S. Russia sanctions proposals could tighten global energy trade flows and add policy uncertainty, even if they may also support oil prices. Bipartisan Senators Reach Agreement With Trump Administration to Advance New Russia Sanctions Bill

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CVX. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Chevron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Chevron in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.83.

Chevron Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $351.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.29.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.41. Chevron had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $47.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.18 EPS. Chevron’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Chevron’s payout ratio is 123.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other news, Director John B. Hess sold 380,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.20, for a total transaction of $73,416,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 278,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,718,294. This represents a 57.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Chevron in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new position in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Karpus Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chevron Company Profile

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is an American multinational energy company engaged in virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry. As an integrated energy firm, Chevron’s core activities include upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production, midstream transportation and storage, downstream refining and marketing of fuels and lubricants, and petrochemical manufacturing through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The company markets fuels under brands such as Chevron, Texaco and Caltex and supplies a range of products and services to retail customers, industrial users and commercial fleets worldwide.

Chevron traces its corporate lineage to the early petroleum companies that eventually became Standard Oil of California and has evolved through significant mergers and restructurings, including the acquisitions of Gulf Oil and Texaco.