Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Jumps 2% – Still a Buy?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shares traded up 2% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $222.55 and last traded at $222.0460. Approximately 9,463,304 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 10,448,533 shares. The stock had previously closed at $217.73.

Trending Headlines about Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher valuation targets: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $226 from $218 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Wells Fargo also initiated or reiterated a “buy” recommendation, reinforcing bullish sentiment. Chevron price target raised by Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Improved oil and project outlook: Chevron’s fair-value estimate was raised from $222.67 to $227.71, reflecting more favorable commodity assumptions, progress on major projects and balance-sheet considerations. Chevron fair value estimate raised
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings and cash-flow support: Wall Street expects a sharp year-over-year increase in Chevron’s third-quarter earnings. Recent coverage also highlights the company’s strong free cash flow and its appeal as a financially strong dividend holding, while Diamond Hill Capital included CVX among its investment ideas. Chevron earnings expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum has attracted investor attention: Zacks identifies Chevron as a trending stock and notes that it recently reached a fresh high. This supports momentum but also raises the question of how much future growth is already reflected in the share price. Chevron reaches a fresh high
• Negative Sentiment: Global supply risks could increase volatility: CEO Mike Wirth warned that commercial inventories, emergency reserves and previously sanctioned oil supplies used to cushion the Iran-related shock have been depleted. A prolonged supply squeeze could support oil prices and Chevron’s upstream earnings, but it could also pressure fuel demand and increase geopolitical risk. Chevron CEO warns oil buffers are depleted

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CVX shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Chevron from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Chevron to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Chevron from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.42.

Chevron Stock Up 2.5%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $443.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.53.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.51. Chevron had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $67.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 17.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Chevron’s payout ratio is 68.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 317,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.46, for a total value of $63,565,866.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,273,701.68. This represents a 92.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John B. Hess sold 710,665 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 363,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,596,305.10. The trade was a 66.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,152,582 shares of company stock worth $225,853,661. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 4.3% in the third quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Chevron by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. GenWealth Group Inc. purchased a new position in Chevron in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 3.0% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 72,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Selective Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Chevron by 15.1% during the third quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. 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.