Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $195.20 and last traded at $195.4720, with a volume of 3637881 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $191.79.

Chevron News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oil rally lifting fundamentals: Rising crude on Strait of Hormuz tensions has driven Chevron to fresh highs as investors favor integrated producers who benefit from higher upstream margins. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Gulf of Mexico expansion: Chevron increased its footprint with new offshore lease bids, underscoring confidence in deepwater resources and long‑term U.S. upstream exposure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Auction participation seen as investment in growth: Reuters reports Chevron was among top spenders at a recent Gulf auction, signalling active capital deployment into upstream acreage. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Emergency reserve moves could cap upside: The IEA’s coordinated releases and talk of U.S. SPR taps add a supply‑side moderating force—these actions can restrain oil gains and limit further CVX upside if sustained. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Political/market noise: Statements about Strategic Petroleum Reserve use (and occasional conflicting government posts) increase intraday volatility for energy names. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory penalty: Chevron agreed to pay a $1M penalty and retire about $3.6M in invalid renewable‑fuel credits under a DOJ settlement—small dollar impact but negative PR and compliance cost. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: A senior insider disclosed multi‑month share sales (most recently ~47,200 shares), which some traders interpret as a signal to trim exposure despite routine liquidity reasons. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Volatility risk and profit‑taking: Recent sharp oil swings have produced episodes where CVX underperformed broader indices as traders lock in gains—creates short‑term downside risk if oil retraces. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $176.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Argus set a $203.00 price objective on Chevron in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Chevron from $178.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Chevron from $196.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.95.

Chevron Trading Up 2.1%

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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $175.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.50. The company has a market cap of $390.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 106.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 320,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.99, for a total value of $52,270,893.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,355,205.50. The trade was a 95.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 58,000 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.65, for a total value of $10,941,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,558 shares in the company, valued at $1,614,466.70. This trade represents a 87.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,099,397 shares of company stock worth $196,196,468 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Karpus Management Inc. bought a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.