Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $196.00 to $204.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Chevron traded as high as $177.38 and last traded at $176.9520, with a volume of 5103317 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $174.03.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CVX. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chevron from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Chevron from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Chevron from $183.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Chevron from $178.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.00.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 320,700 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.99, for a total transaction of $52,270,893.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,355,205.50. The trade was a 95.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Eimear P. Bonner sold 32,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total value of $5,617,821.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,093.66. This represents a 88.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 764,958 shares of company stock worth $122,930,032 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullishness: Goldman Sachs and other buy-side analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and boutiques including TD Cowen and Wells Fargo published favorable forecasts/price-target increases that support buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: Chevron raised its quarterly payout to $1.78 (annualized $7.12, ~4% yield), reinforcing the income thesis that draws dividend-focused investors and supports the stock’s re-rating. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Project commitments: Chevron reconfirmed commitment to the Yoyo–Yolanda gas project (Cameroon/Equatorial Guinea), a production/growth catalyst for gas exposure and long‑term cash flow. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly results mixed: Q4 beat EPS expectations ($1.52 vs. $1.44) but revenue missed and year-over-year profit fell — supports cash-flow narrative but tempers near-term growth hopes. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Syria offshore MOU: Chevron signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate offshore exploration in Syrian waters with a Qatari partner — a potential long-term resource opportunity but with geopolitical and sanction risks that make near-term impacts uncertain. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Several senior insiders (including the CFO) disclosed large share sales in late January, which may create short-term sentiment/headline pressure despite routine explanations (taxes, diversification). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headwinds: Oil prices eased as geopolitical risk softened, which can cap near-term revenue and margin expectations for integrated majors like Chevron. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious notes: A few firms (HSBC and others) trimmed views or moved to Hold, arguing recent gains may have priced in much of the upside — these calls can limit further rallies. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Chevron by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,511,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Chevron by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Chevron by 110.1% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 35,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,047,000 after buying an additional 2,422 shares during the period. Finally, Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,140 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $158.11 and a 200 day moving average of $156.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $365.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.70.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Chevron had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 6.51%.The business had revenue of $45.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.70%.

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.