Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $167.34 and last traded at $167.64, with a volume of 136761 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $165.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Chevron currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.13.

Chevron Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $294.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.81.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. United Bank grew its position in shares of Chevron by 8.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 8,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chevron by 3.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,482,388 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,869,171,000 after acquiring an additional 672,244 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its position in Chevron by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 26,912 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Concentric Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 3.1% in the third quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,374,000 after buying an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Finally, Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 3.6% during the third quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 13,276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.