Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 1.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares of Chevron fell about 1.2% to roughly $190.55 on Thursday with volume below the recent average, marking a short-term pullback from a close of $192.89.
• Company fundamentals and operations are showing momentum: Chevron says stronger oil and gas prices should lift Q1 upstream earnings by $1.6–$2.2 billion, and recent wins — a Bandit deepwater oil discovery, approval of the $690M Aseng gas project, and the Leviathan restart — support future production and LNG growth.
• Wall Street’s consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target around $190; Chevron also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.78 (≈3.7% yield) even as its payout ratio is high (106.9%) and insiders have recently sold shares.

Shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) traded down 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $189.27 and last traded at $190.5530. 11,568,758 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 13,183,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.89.

More Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron says stronger oil and gas prices should lift Q1 upstream earnings by $1.6–$2.2 billion versus Q4, a direct near-term earnings tailwind for CVX. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron (with partners) confirmed an oil discovery at the Bandit prospect in the Gulf of America — a high-quality deepwater find that can add production optionality and future reserves. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: CVX approved a $690M Aseng gas project to boost LNG supply; expands Chevron’s LNG growth runway and supports higher-margin gas/export exposure. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron resumed Leviathan gas-field operations after a suspension, restoring export volumes and reinforcing its eastern Mediterranean gas profile. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and price-target raises (Wells Fargo, Tudor Pickering, BMO among others) lift the headline analyst sentiment and imply meaningful upside from current levels. Wells Fargo Price Target Lift Tudor Pickering Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy-sector movement is mixed intraday (some pre-bell gains followed by afternoon declines); broader risk sentiment around the U.S.–Iran ceasefire and Hormuz uncertainty is driving sector swings rather than company-specific news. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market pieces highlight Chevron as a dividend/low-volatility holding (Dividend Aristocrat coverage), underscoring long-term investor appeal even as short-term volatility persists. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical developments remain a double-edged sword: a fragile U.S.–Iran ceasefire has led to intermittent oil-price weakness, and a reported drone strike on Saudi pipeline infrastructure keeps supply-risk premiums elevated and market sentiment jittery. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. Argus set a $203.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $179.00 to $242.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chevron currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.04.

Chevron Stock Down 1.2%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $190.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.59. 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 stock has a market cap of $380.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Chevron had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $45.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Chevron's previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. Chevron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.91%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other Chevron news, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 40,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.30, for a total transaction of $8,574,660.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,842,485.40. This trade represents a 82.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 11,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.58, for a total transaction of $2,187,528.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 782,607 shares of company stock worth $146,510,571 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Chevron by 17.9% during 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 buying an additional 27,961,463 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Chevron by 9.1% during 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 buying an additional 12,789,399 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its holdings in Chevron by 6.6% during 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 buying an additional 8,091,570 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Chevron by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,613,011 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,620,187,000 after buying an additional 134,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Chevron by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,036,844 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,492,377,000 after buying an additional 961,341 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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