Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Chevron (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 93,873 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 157% compared to the average daily volume of 36,581 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Chevron by 19,404.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,901,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,218,280,000 after buying an additional 4,876,260 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Chevron by 15,750.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,901,345 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $574,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876,731 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Chevron by 949.6% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,819,963 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $562,566,000 after acquiring an additional 3,456,008 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,108,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,581,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,203,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Chevron by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,537,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,335,492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,048,819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

NYSE:CVX opened at $161.42 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.39 and its 200-day moving average is $152.62. Chevron has a 1-year low of $135.37 and a 1-year high of $167.11. 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 stock has a market cap of $290.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.09.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. Chevron had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.05 EPS. Chevron’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Chevron will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on CVX shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America began coverage on Chevron in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Chevron from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Chevron from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $205.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.93.

About Chevron

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.