Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading 1.8% Higher – What’s Next?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s share price traded up 1.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $162.70 and last traded at $162.1490. 12,479,856 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 16,894,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.25.

Key Chevron News

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CVX. Barclays decreased their target price on Chevron from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Chevron from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. HSBC set a $169.00 price target on Chevron and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Chevron presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.14.

Chevron Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $326.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.31.

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

Chevron Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In related news, CFO Eimear P. Bonner sold 28,334 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $4,676,526.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,366 shares in the company, valued at $720,608.30. This trade represents a 86.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Alana K. Knowles sold 7,956 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $1,313,137.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,207 shares in the company, valued at $199,215.35. This represents a 86.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 631,990 shares of company stock worth $99,716,808 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 7,641 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 13,391 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,079,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Chevron by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.