Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Chevron (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 60,561 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 49% compared to the typical volume of 40,566 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $1,422,062.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,017,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $1,036,302,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Chevron by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,496,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,389,380,000 after buying an additional 2,432,756 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,806,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,323,549,000 after buying an additional 1,910,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in Chevron by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,079,656 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,039,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440,808 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of CVX stock opened at $167.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $295.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. Chevron has a 12-month low of $135.37 and a 12-month high of $168.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.36). Chevron had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Chevron will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is 70.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chevron currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.13.

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; 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.