Chevron Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 54,357 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 52% compared to the typical volume of 35,823 put options.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of CVX traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $143.98. 4,470,064 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,823,820. The company has a market cap of $258.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $154.48 and its 200 day moving average is $151.67. Chevron has a fifty-two week low of $135.37 and a fifty-two week high of $167.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $50.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Chevron will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Chevron from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. DZ Bank upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total transaction of $26,357,398.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,356.40. The trade was a 97.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tacita Capital Inc increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 454 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Chevron by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Chevron by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,769 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,911,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its position in Chevron by 0.7% during the third quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 9,033 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Chevron by 5.2% during the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 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.