Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shares dropped 1.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $185.64 and last traded at $186.3760. Approximately 11,956,254 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 12,209,381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.44.

Key Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron is paying a $1.78 quarterly dividend today (a 4% raise), marking 39 consecutive years of annual dividend growth — a strong income story that supports investor demand for CVX. Chevron Pays $1.78 Dividend Today
• Positive Sentiment: BofA’s recent bullish $206 target (reported Mar. 8) and the stock surge that followed have supported sentiment and helped underpin CVX in the rally into this week. BofA Upgrade / Stock Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Portfolio-strengthening deals: Chevron closed the Hess acquisition (adding Guyana assets) and has exclusive talks for Iraq’s West Qurna 2 — moves that increase long?life production optionality and support future cash flow. Hess Deal and West Qurna 2 Talks
• Positive Sentiment: Operational contract wins: Chevron signed a five?year gas supply deal with Horizon Power to supply 14 PJ, reinforcing near?term revenue visibility in Australia. Horizon Power Gas Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: M&A interest in Brazil: Ultrapar has engaged BTG to explore a possible sale of an Ipiranga stake and Chevron is reported as interested — potential local growth but still speculative. Ultrapar / Ipiranga Interest
• Negative Sentiment: Headline-driven oil pullback hit CVX: comments from former President Trump predicting a quick end to the Iran conflict sent oil tumbling and prompted declines in Exxon and Chevron today — the immediate cause of the stock’s weakness. Trump Comments / Oil Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical production hits and operational risk: reports that Chevron may suspend production at Israel?region Leviathan assets add downside operational risk amid an already volatile supply backdrop. Leviathan Suspension Report
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory friction in California: Chevron’s public criticism of Governor Newsom’s proposed energy rules highlights potential state?level regulatory and political risk that could affect refining margins / operations in a key market. Chevron Criticizes California Policy

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a report on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on Chevron from $179.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Thirteen 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.95.

Chevron Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $174.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.09. 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 has a market cap of $371.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is 106.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.53, for a total transaction of $3,918,966.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 666 shares in the company, valued at $117,568.98. This represents a 97.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Mark A. Nelson sold 139,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.92, for a total transaction of $26,233,632.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,130,449.04. This trade represents a 92.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,052,197 shares of company stock valued at $187,128,404. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Castellan Group lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Castellan Group now owns 20,405 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its holdings in Chevron by 7.7% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 11,079 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in Chevron by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 50,839 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,280,000 after purchasing an additional 4,214 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the second quarter valued at $10,435,000. Finally, Future Fund LLC lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 10.2% during the second quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 5,325 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

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.