Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 57,130,000 shares, a growth of 9.6% from the August 31st total of 52,130,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Chevron from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Chevron in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Chevron from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $183.00 to $167.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Chevron from $203.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chevron presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVX. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its position in Chevron by 403.2% in the first quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chevron by 118.0% during the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 218 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its stake in shares of Chevron by 66.7% during the second quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVX traded up $2.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $149.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,482,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,060,685. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Chevron has a fifty-two week low of $135.37 and a fifty-two week high of $170.17. The company has a market capitalization of $273.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.38). Chevron had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 13.70%. The company had revenue of $51.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chevron will post 11.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. Chevron’s payout ratio is 59.98%.

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.