Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 2.3% – Should You Buy?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price shot up 2.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $191.50 and last traded at $190.91. 11,029,428 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 12,301,032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.64.

Key Stories Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron agreed to sell its Singapore refinery stake and other Southeast Asia/Australia downstream assets to ENEOS for roughly $2.17 billion-$2.2 billion, a move that could improve portfolio efficiency and strengthen balance-sheet flexibility. Reuters: Eneos to buy Chevron’s stake in Singapore Refining and other assets for $2.2 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer’s bullish view on Chevron, telling investors to “pull the trigger,” may have added to sentiment around the stock and reinforced the idea that CVX remains attractive after recent weakness. Insider Monkey: Jim Cramer on Chevron: “I’m Going to Say Pull the Trigger”
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent article argued that Chevron’s weaker reported earnings did not tell the whole story, suggesting the market may be looking past the quarter’s headline miss and focusing more on underlying asset quality and strategic actions. Yahoo Finance: Weak Statutory Earnings May Not Tell The Whole Story For Chevron
• Neutral Sentiment: Chevron also remains in the broader energy-stock conversation as investors weigh oil prices, capital spending discipline, and comparisons with peers like TotalEnergies; this is background context rather than a direct company-specific catalyst. Motley Fool: Chevron vs. TotalEnergies: What’s the Better Energy Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary from Morgan Stanley focused on spending discipline across oil companies, a reminder that Chevron could face pressure if investors believe capital returns are being diluted by overly aggressive investment plans. TheStreet: Morgan Stanley cuts to chase on Chevron, oil stock prices

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CVX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Chevron from $204.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chevron from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Argus set a $203.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.13.

Chevron Stock Up 2.3%

The firm has a market cap of $380.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $193.04 and its 200-day moving average is $173.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.41. Chevron had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 6.90%. The firm had revenue of $47.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 15.23 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is currently 123.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 272,624 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.35, for a total transaction of $51,621,354.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 31,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,920,217.10. This represents a 89.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Hess sold 195,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.78, for a total transaction of $36,032,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 658,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,593,555.10. This represents a 22.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 803,570 shares of company stock worth $151,969,798. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CVX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 183,790,028 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,540,753,000 after purchasing an additional 27,961,463 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,727,586,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 152,605,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,698,184,000 after purchasing an additional 12,789,399 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 130,156,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,837,131,000 after purchasing an additional 8,091,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter valued at about $988,083,000. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.