Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Down 1.8% – Here’s Why

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s stock price dropped 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $182.09 and last traded at $182.4590. Approximately 9,641,796 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 12,879,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.82.

Key Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venezuela is set to grant additional oil drilling blocks to Chevron and Repsol, a development that would expand production opportunity and reserves in a high-impact basin. Venezuela set to grant more oil drilling blocks to Chevron, Repsol – Bloomberg
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron has begun processing Venezuelan crude at a Gulf Coast refinery — a tangible near-term boost to volumes/refining feedstock access and a sign of resumed operations tied to political changes. Inside Chevron’s flagship refinery tapping into Venezuelan crude after Maduro’s capture
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron is returning to Libya and pursuing exploration/blocks in the Sirte Basin — a move that increases long?term upstream optionality if political/security conditions hold. Big Oil embraces global exploration again as Chevron returns to Libya
• Positive Sentiment: Company scale in the Permian (1M boe/d) and deployment of AI/mineral-right advantages were highlighted as drivers of cash flow and cost efficiency — supportive for free cash flow and shareholder returns. Chevron’s Permian Scale Drives Cash Flow and Efficiency Edge
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: traders bought roughly 1,009,814 call options (a ~2,066% jump vs. typical volume), signaling bullish sentiment or speculative positioning that can add upward price momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bangchak has acquired Chevron’s Hong Kong unit as part of regional restructuring — a non-core asset sale that is likely neutral to core upstream earnings but could slightly simplify regional operations. Bangchak acquires Chevron’s Hong Kong unit to fuel regional expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider disclosure: Chevron CTO Thomas Ryder Booth sold 5 shares (de minimis), an immaterial transaction unlikely to affect investor view. SEC Form 4 disclosure

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Chevron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Chevron in a report on Friday, October 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Chevron from $204.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Chevron from $185.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.00.

Chevron Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.51 and a 200-day moving average of $157.42. The stock has a market cap of $369.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Chevron had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The company had revenue of $45.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 102.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Eimear P. Bonner sold 32,100 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total transaction of $5,617,821.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,093.66. The trade was a 88.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 320,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.99, for a total value of $52,270,893.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,355,205.50. This trade represents a 95.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 793,163 shares of company stock worth $127,920,502 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Karpus Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Chevron by 197.7% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.