Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $180.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.35% from the company’s previous close.

CVX has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Chevron from $171.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Chevron in a report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Melius started coverage on Chevron in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chevron has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.60.

Chevron Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of CVX stock opened at $153.38 on Thursday. Chevron has a 12 month low of $132.04 and a 12 month 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. The firm has a market cap of $308.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $155.24 and a 200-day moving average of $150.07.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $48.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.99 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 9.90%. Chevron’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Chevron will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chevron news, Director John B. Hess sold 375,000 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.30, for a total transaction of $59,362,500.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Alana K. Knowles sold 3,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $636,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,960. The trade was a 77.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CVX. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in Chevron by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Chevron by 9.1% during the first quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 5,938 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 16,694 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.