Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 4.5% – What’s Next?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price was down 4.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $194.91 and last traded at $197.5850. Approximately 22,853,633 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 72% from the average daily volume of 13,273,169 shares. The stock had previously closed at $206.90.

Chevron News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded CVX to a Buy (Zacks Rank #2), signaling increased near-term optimism from sell‑side revisions. Chevron (CVX) Upgraded to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley recently raised its price target (reported coverage highlighted a $212 target), supporting upside expectations vs. today’s weakness. Chevron (CVX) Price Target Raised to $212
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron signed an exclusivity/partnership arrangement with Microsoft and Engine No. 1 tied to a potential ~$7B Texas power project — a move that could de‑risk long-term power supply and diversify cash flow. Microsoft, Chevron and Engine No. 1 sign exclusive deal for power supply
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts note Chevron’s strong earnings‑surprise history and believe CVX could beat upcoming estimates, which underpins longer‑term cash flow confidence. Why Chevron (CVX) Could Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Neutral Sentiment: Chevron announced senior leadership changes — typical corporate housekeeping that may matter for execution but is not an immediate fundamental shock. Chevron Announces Senior Leadership Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes long‑term value and investor interest (including reporting on Berkshire exposure), but these are background positives that won’t offset near‑term oil price moves. Warren Buffett Bet Big On Oil In Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Iran’s president may be moving toward ending the conflict removed much of the geopolitical risk premium from oil prices — the immediate catalyst for the intra‑day selloff in CVX. Exxon Mobil and Chevron Fall 5%: What Iran’s President Just Did to U.S. Oil Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Operational risk: downstream assets at the Wheatstone LNG facility were heavily damaged by Cyclone Narelle, creating short‑term supply/delivery uncertainty for LNG earnings. Chevron’s downstream assets at Wheatstone gas facility suffer extensive damage
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/state risk: reporting that Chevron warned it may need to close California gas plants under aggressive state policy raises longer‑term operational and cost concerns for local assets. Chevron May Have To Close Its Gas Plants In California

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Chevron in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Chevron from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Argus set a $203.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Chevron from $206.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.50.

Chevron Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $187.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.98. The stock has a market cap of $394.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its 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 company had revenue of $45.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. Chevron’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, insider Alana K. Knowles sold 2,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.28, for a total transaction of $441,338.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 47,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.12, for a total transaction of $9,068,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,162.96. This trade represents a 84.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,099,397 shares of company stock valued at $196,196,468 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McAlvany Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,729,000. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $694,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $2,986,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,456,172 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $221,936,000 after purchasing an additional 167,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lane Brothers & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $283,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently 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.