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

Key Points

• Chevron shares hit a new 52-week high after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to "overweight" and raised its price target from $174 to $212, with CVX trading as high as $213.36 (last reported ~$214.50).
• Heavy insider selling has occurred recently — insiders disposed of 1,099,397 shares worth about $196.2 million over the past 90 days (insiders now own 0.21% of the company), including sales by the CFO and R. Hewitt Pate.
• Near-term operational and regulatory risks persist: a weeks‑long outage at the Wheatstone LNG plant tightens global LNG supply and Chevron’s volumes, while discussions of an Australian windfall profits tax could pressure margins.

Shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday 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 $213.36 and last traded at $214.4980, with a volume of 194738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.15.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Chevron from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Melius Research raised Chevron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Fourteen equities 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.50.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other Chevron news, CFO Eimear P. Bonner sold 32,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total value of $5,617,821.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,093.66. The trade was a 88.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 58,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.65, for a total transaction of $10,941,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,558 shares in the company, valued at $1,614,466.70. The trade was a 87.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,099,397 shares of company stock worth $196,196,468 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Chevron News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price target raise to $212 — an upgrade that supports upside expectations and likely helped buying interest. Chevron NYSE: CVX Price Target Raised to $212.00
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade pushed intraday gains — coverage noting CVX trading ~1.7% higher after the upgrade, reinforcing short-term bullish momentum. Chevron NYSE: CVX Trading 1.7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group sees higher earnings for Chevron — a broker projection that supports valuation and analyst sentiment. Erste Group Bank Predicts Increased Earnings for Chevron
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical commentary underscores market uncertainty (S&P and energy sector volatility) but is not company-specific; this can amplify swings in energy names including CVX. The problem for investors: We don't know how Trump wants the Iran war to end
• Negative Sentiment: Weeks‑long outage at Wheatstone LNG (Australia) after storm damage — the plant won’t be fully restarted for weeks; it accounted for roughly 2.4% of global LNG trade and the outage tightens global LNG supply while reducing Chevron’s near‑term LNG volumes and revenue. This is the largest near-term operational negative for CVX. Weeks-Long Australian LNG Outage Will Further Tighten Supply
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/tax risk in Australia — government discussion of a windfall profits tax on LNG producers could hit margins and add fiscal uncertainty for Chevron’s Australian operations. Cyclone Outages And Tax Threat Test Chevron’s Australian LNG Story
• Negative Sentiment: CEO warning on Iran conflict risk — heightened geopolitical uncertainty can increase input/operational risk and market volatility; investors often reprice energy stocks on uncertainty about supply disruptions and policy responses. Chevron CEO sounds alarm as Trump puts a 10-day clock on Iran

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 7.7% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 11,079 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Chevron by 9.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 50,839 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,280,000 after purchasing an additional 4,214 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Chevron by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,239,804 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $177,528,000 after purchasing an additional 75,445 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Chevron during the 2nd quarter valued at about $366,000. Finally, VestGen Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 34,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 4,219 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Stock Up 1.3%

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $185.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $426.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.67.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Chevron had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $45.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. Chevron's revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Chevron's previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. Chevron's dividend payout ratio is 106.91%.

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.

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