Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Up 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s share price shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $215.28 and last traded at $213.6890. Approximately 8,358,233 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 10,619,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.80.

Key Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron CFO Eimear Bonner said the company is “bigger, better and stronger,” highlighting cost efficiencies in U.S. shale, global expansion and plans to increase Venezuela production to approximately 600,000 barrels per day. The comments reinforce expectations for production growth and operating leverage. Chevron CFO Says Oil Giant Is Bigger, Better and Stronger Than We’ve Ever Been
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron plans to invest more than $7 billion over five years and double its Venezuelan rig count, adding acreage and potentially expanding production. If executed, the initiative could provide a meaningful long-term growth driver alongside Hess-related synergies and strong cash flow. Chevron to double oil rigs in Venezuela as part of growth plan
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron continues to attract income-focused investors because of its scale, financial strength and dividend profile. Rising oil prices could also support shareholder returns and free-cash-flow generation. Oil Prices Are Climbing, Yet These 3 Energy Stocks Yield 3%+
• Neutral Sentiment: Production, costs and free cash flow are improving, but Chevron’s return on invested capital has not kept pace. The disconnect could limit valuation upside unless capital investments generate stronger returns. CVX’s Operations and FCF Are Improving: Why Isn’t ROIC Keeping Up?
• Negative Sentiment: The Venezuela production target is ambitious and may take until 2031 to reach. Execution challenges, political and regulatory risks, and the large investment commitment could delay returns or increase project risk. Chevron Wants 600,000 Barrels a Day From Venezuela by 2031

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chevron from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Chevron in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered Chevron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $224.00 target price on Chevron in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.35.

Chevron Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $422.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $67.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.72 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 9.57%.Chevron’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 16.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 68.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 317,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.46, for a total value of $63,565,866.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,273,701.68. The trade was a 92.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider R. Pate sold 2,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.11, for a total transaction of $506,621.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,213,957.34. The trade was a 18.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,152,582 shares of company stock worth $225,853,661 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVX. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Karpus Management Inc. purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, production, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas. The company also manufactures and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and additives through operations and brands that include Chevron, Texaco and Caltex.

Chevron’s upstream activities include oil and natural gas exploration and production, while its downstream business includes refining, fuel marketing, transportation and related energy services.