Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading 1.7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shot up 1.7% on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $174.00 to $212.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Chevron traded as high as $212.46 and last traded at $211.3090. 13,883,937 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 13,088,958 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.79.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CVX. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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, January 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on Chevron from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, HSBC upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.50.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 272,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.35, for a total transaction of $51,621,354.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,920,217.10. The trade was a 89.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Alana K. Knowles sold 2,408 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.28, for a total value of $441,338.24. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,099,397 shares of company stock worth $196,196,468. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Australian cyclone knocked out production at major LNG hubs, tightening global gas supply and supporting higher energy prices, a tailwind for Chevron’s commodity-linked cash flow. Cyclone Causes Outages at Australia’s Top LNG Projects
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $212 and set an “overweight” rating, signaling buy-side support and helping push CVX higher. Benzinga: Morgan Stanley price target
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein also lifted its price target on Chevron amid a stronger crude backdrop, reinforcing the narrative that majors benefit from the current oil rally. MSN: Bernstein price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised FY2026/FY2027 EPS forecasts for Chevron, reflecting better-than-expected earnings power as oil prices stay elevated. MarketBeat: Erste Group EPS revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Market positioning has shifted to defensive, dividend-paying sectors; several market roundups note oil majors including CVX outperforming amid geopolitical risk. Seeking Alpha: Market shifts to defense
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets and analysts praise Chevron’s low breakeven, high-quality asset base and dividend profile, which supports momentum and income-focused buying. Zacks: Chevron momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Chevron reported production outages at its Australian Gorgon and Wheatstone facilities tied to the cyclone — positive for global price signals but a near-term hit to CVX production, leaving the net impact mixed. Reuters: Chevron outage
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus brokerage coverage remains around “hold” even as some firms raise targets — suggests upside is recognized but some caution persists. AmericanBankingNews: Consensus hold
• Negative Sentiment: Political/insider optics: a U.S. Representative who publicly backed military action sold Chevron stock at all-time highs, drawing negative headlines and governance/PR risk. Benzinga: Congressman sold Chevron stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary raises macro risk scenarios (e.g., high oil in $130–$140 range) that could hurt economic growth and introduce volatility—even if commodity-linked cash flows initially rise. Seeking Alpha: $130-$140 oil risks

Institutional Trading of Chevron

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chevron by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 73,448 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,406,000 after purchasing an additional 11,875 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Chevron by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 83,265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,690,000 after purchasing an additional 10,822 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new stake in Chevron in the third quarter worth $431,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Chevron by 15.3% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,620,231 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $251,606,000 after buying an additional 215,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Finemark National Bank & Trust increased its position in Chevron by 40.3% during the third quarter. Finemark National Bank & Trust now owns 56,535 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,779,000 after buying an additional 16,243 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chevron Trading Up 1.7%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.21. The company has a market capitalization of $421.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $45.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.18 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 6.51%.The firm’s revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. 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 3.4%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.91%.

About Chevron

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.