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

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 53,860,000 shares, a drop of 5.7% from the September 15th total of 57,130,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Chevron from $196.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Chevron from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Chevron from $189.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $205.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.81.

Chevron Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CVX traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $150.11. The company had a trading volume of 2,382,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,695,555. Chevron has a 1-year low of $135.37 and a 1-year high of $170.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.78. The stock has a market cap of $276.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.09.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.38). Chevron had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 9.31%. The firm had revenue of $51.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.08 earnings per share. Chevron’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Chevron will post 11.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. Chevron’s payout ratio is 59.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 403.2% in the first quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 118.0% during the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 218 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 66.7% during the 2nd 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. Krane Funds Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron during the first quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other 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.