Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Up 2.6% – What’s Next?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $160.44 and last traded at $159.2720. 12,860,991 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 17,779,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.20.

Trending Headlines about Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron is in advanced talks with the U.S. government to expand its Venezuela license, which would allow higher exports to Chevron’s refineries and third parties — a clear potential earnings and volume catalyst. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Shipping and operational activity is picking up: data and filings show Chevron loading Venezuelan crude and contracting multiple tankers, signalling the company can scale flows quickly if approvals hold. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market positioning and deal activity: reports show Chevron competing with traders and partners to control Venezuelan exports and lining up bids for international assets — moves that could expand supply links and reserves. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Bernstein and other outlets have recently raised targets or reiterated bullish theses on CVX amid the Venezuela angle, providing analyst-driven validation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: White House engagement: President Trump met with oil executives to discuss Venezuela reconstruction — policy backing could help but details, guarantees and timelines remain uncertain. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Companies want guarantees: FT/Reuters reporting that U.S. majors want formal guarantees from Washington before committing large capital, implying any large-scale Venezuela rebuild will be phased and conditional. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Distribution risk: some shipments to traditional buyers (notably Chinese buyers) are paused, tempering near-term cash conversion despite increased loading activity. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling disclosed (CEO, CFO and other insiders sold sizable blocks in early January), which can be perceived negatively and add short-term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and sell-side caution: at least one firm cut CVX to “Strong Sell” and others trimmed price targets, reflecting some skepticism about sustainable upside after the recent run. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Political/reputational risk: high-profile criticism and scrutiny around U.S. handling of Venezuela investments raise execution and regulatory uncertainty. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVX has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Chevron in a report on Thursday. HSBC set a $169.00 price objective on shares of Chevron and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Chevron in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Chevron from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.14.

Chevron Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $326.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $48.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.99 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 8.74% and a net margin of 6.57%.Chevron’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 320,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.99, for a total transaction of $52,270,893.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,355,205.50. This represents a 95.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Eimear P. Bonner sold 28,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $4,676,526.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,608.30. This represents a 86.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 631,990 shares of company stock valued at $99,716,808 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Chevron by 197.7% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the third quarter worth $34,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 86.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 255 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 52.3% in the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Chevron during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Company Profile

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is an American multinational energy company engaged in virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry. As an integrated energy firm, Chevron’s core activities include upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production, midstream transportation and storage, downstream refining and marketing of fuels and lubricants, and petrochemical manufacturing through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The company markets fuels under brands such as Chevron, Texaco and Caltex and supplies a range of products and services to retail customers, industrial users and commercial fleets worldwide.

Chevron traces its corporate lineage to the early petroleum companies that eventually became Standard Oil of California and has evolved through significant mergers and restructurings, including the acquisitions of Gulf Oil and Texaco.