Chevron Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 163,841 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 336% compared to the average volume of 37,566 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CVX. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Chevron from $171.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Chevron in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Chevron in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Chevron from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.55.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of CVX traded down $2.69 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $154.93. 8,729,079 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,818,559. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.40. Chevron has a fifty-two week low of $132.04 and a fifty-two week high of $168.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.14. Chevron had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 9.90%. The company had revenue of $48.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Chevron will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, VP Alana K. Knowles sold 3,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $636,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,960. The trade was a 77.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Hess sold 375,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.30, for a total value of $59,362,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,403,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,102,023.50. This trade represents a 21.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ignite Planners LLC grew its position in Chevron by 14.1% in the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 9.1% in the first quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 5,938 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Chevron by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Solitude Financial Services increased its stake in Chevron by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 25,325 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,626,000 after buying an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 88,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,743,000 after buying an additional 6,058 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chevron

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.