Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Chevron (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 62,811 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 60% compared to the average volume of 39,225 put options.

Chevron Stock Performance

NYSE CVX opened at $140.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $257.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09. Chevron has a 1-year low of $135.37 and a 1-year high of $171.70.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $51.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.68 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 9.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Chevron will post 11.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. Chevron’s payout ratio is 59.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Chevron in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Chevron from $156.00 to $154.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Chevron from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $183.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Chevron from $203.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Chevron from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Chevron by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 10,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Chevron by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Chevron by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,404 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 4,047 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $470,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently 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.