Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shares traded down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $207.12 and last traded at $208.48. 5,387,652 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 10,650,040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.32.

Chevron News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron plans to invest more than $7 billion in Venezuela and aims to roughly double production from its joint ventures to approximately 600,000 barrels per day within five years. The expansion gives CVX access to substantial Orinoco Belt resources and could provide production growth and attractive economics if political conditions remain stable. Chevron Venezuela Orinoco Belt expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Investors and analysts continue to highlight Chevron’s long-term strengths, including production growth from the Hess acquisition, a nearly four-decade record of annual dividend increases and potential support from elevated crude prices. Recent commentary also characterizes the shares as relatively attractive for long-term investors. Why Chevron is a top stock for the long term
• Positive Sentiment: A preliminary agreement covering Ghana’s South Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block could add another offshore growth option, although commercial terms and ownership details have not been finalized. Chevron and Shell Ghana agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: The Venezuela announcement is strategically significant but remains dependent on regulatory approvals, operating execution, infrastructure investment and the durability of U.S.-Venezuela relations. Analysts also caution that the agreement should not be confused with a separate U.S.-backed Venezuelan oil venture.
• Negative Sentiment: Critics point to Chevron’s high capital requirements and operational challenges. The $7 billion investment could pressure returns if production ramps slowly, costs rise or oil prices weaken. Lower crude prices would also test the sustainability of Chevron’s dividend and reduce the value of new production. Chevron capital requirements and operational challenges
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity has consisted largely of sales, including transactions by senior executives, which may add near-term caution after the rally, though insider sales do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s fundamentals.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CVX shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chevron from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Chevron from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Chevron from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Chevron from $210.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chevron presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.35.

Chevron Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $411.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $190.35 and a 200-day moving average of $189.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.51. Chevron had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The firm had revenue of $67.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 16.24 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 68.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew Walz sold 16,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total value of $3,377,808.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814.84. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Wirth sold 317,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.46, for a total value of $63,565,866.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,273,701.68. The trade was a 92.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,152,582 shares of company stock valued at $225,853,661 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 19,425.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 432,663,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $71,718,374,000 after buying an additional 430,448,040 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Chevron during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,663,729,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth $3,727,586,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Chevron during the 2nd quarter worth $2,378,114,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 9.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 152,605,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,698,184,000 after purchasing an additional 12,789,399 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.