Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Up 3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Chevron shares rose 3% to about $233.39, outperforming the stock’s recent trading levels amid expectations for year-over-year earnings growth and a potential earnings beat.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, while Bank of America raised its price target to $252. Chevron is also pursuing growth through a potential $13.8 billion Vaca Muerta investment in Argentina and preliminary talks to operate Iraq’s West Qurna 2 field.
• The company offers a 3.1% dividend yield and recently beat earnings and revenue estimates, though substantial insider selling and the possible sale of roughly $1 billion in mature Gulf assets remain notable factors for investors.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) shot up 3% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $233.74 and last traded at $233.3910. 8,127,792 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 10,359,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.68.

Key Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Chevron’s upcoming earnings report to show year-over-year growth, with estimates suggesting the company has favorable conditions for a potential earnings beat. Erste Group also raised its 2026 EPS forecast to $17.63 from $16.90, while Bank of America increased its price target to $252 from $227. Chevron Earnings Expected to Grow
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron plans to apply its Permian Basin operating approach in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale region, with a reported investment of approximately $13.8 billion. Expanding drilling and improving recovery could provide significant long-term production growth. Chevron uses Permian playbook in Argentina
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron is in preliminary talks to operate Iraq’s West Qurna 2 field, where officials see an opportunity to potentially double output. The opportunity could add production scale, although the agreement is not yet final. Chevron eyes Iraq’s West Qurna 2 field
• Positive Sentiment: The company is reportedly considering the sale of approximately $1 billion in mature U.S. Gulf assets. Proceeds could be redirected toward newer offshore projects and other higher-growth opportunities, supporting portfolio efficiency and capital allocation. Chevron eyes $1 billion Gulf asset sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high call-option activity indicates increased near-term bullish speculation, but options flows can be volatile and do not necessarily reflect fundamental buying.
• Negative Sentiment: Director R. Hewitt Pate sold 43,100 shares worth approximately $9.8 million across two transactions. The sales were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting their value as a discretionary bearish signal, but the substantial reduction in ownership may weigh modestly on sentiment. Chevron insider trading filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CVX. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Chevron to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Chevron from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $241.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $216.00 to $208.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Chevron from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.96.

Chevron Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $461.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.53. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $209.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $67.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.72 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 18.12 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Chevron's payout ratio is presently 68.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other news, Director John Hess sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.26, for a total value of $19,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 178,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,587,021.70. This represents a 35.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Wirth sold 317,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.46, for a total transaction of $63,565,866.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,273,701.68. This trade represents a 92.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 1,195,682 shares of company stock valued at $235,619,780 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Chevron by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,136,768 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $28,016,651,000 after buying an additional 5,998,852 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the second quarter valued at $25,663,729,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 5.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,630,227 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,716,694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334,976 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the second quarter valued at $2,378,114,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Chevron by 14.1% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 13,900,271 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,304,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714,835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company's stock.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation NYSE: CVX is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations include oil and gas exploration and production, while its downstream business includes refining crude oil, marketing fuels and manufacturing and distributing lubricants, petrochemicals and fuel additives.

The company also invests in lower-carbon businesses and technologies, including renewable fuels, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and other opportunities intended to reduce emissions from its operations and energy products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.