Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Shares Up 2.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $179.00 to $242.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Chevron traded as high as $198.88 and last traded at $197.3120. 26,970,656 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 116% from the average session volume of 12,500,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.79.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on CVX. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $196.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Chevron from $174.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC lowered Chevron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alana K. Knowles sold 2,408 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.28, for a total transaction of $441,338.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Mark A. Nelson sold 139,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.92, for a total value of $26,233,632.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,337 shares in the company, valued at $2,130,449.04. This represents a 92.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,099,397 shares of company stock worth $196,196,468. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target on Chevron to $242 and kept an “overweight” rating — a sizable analyst upgrade that can attract institutional and momentum buying. Piper Sandler raises target to $242 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron increased its offshore footprint in the Gulf of Mexico via new lease bids, signaling continued upstream investment and confidence in long‑life deepwater assets. Chevron Expands Gulf of Mexico Presence With Latest Lease Sale (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Chevron and Shell are closing in on major Venezuela production deals point to potential long‑term volume upside if agreements are finalized. Chevron, Shell near deals in Venezuela (Reuters/MSN)
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro flow: governments/IEA and the U.S. have signaled SPR releases or taps to stabilize fuel prices — this cap on a runaway oil rally both supports economic stability but could limit upside for CVX if crude eases. Trump says he’ll tap SPR (CNBC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Chevron was among top bidders at a recent small Gulf of Mexico auction — signals active resource allocation but not a material near‑term earnings change. BP, Chevron top spenders at Gulf auction (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory hit: Chevron agreed to pay a $1M penalty and retire $3.6M of invalid renewable fuel credits — a modest financial hit but a reminder of compliance and reputational risk. Chevron hit with $1M penalty (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: a disclosure shows R. Hewitt Pate sold 47,200 shares in recent filings — can be interpreted by some investors as a signal to trim exposure. Insider sells 47,200 shares (AmericanBankingNews)
• Negative Sentiment: Momentum risk: MarketBeat and technical indicators warn the rally may be stretched and vulnerable to profit‑taking if oil prices retreat — watch crude and momentum signals closely. Chevron hits new highs but is it sustainable? (MarketBeat)

Institutional Trading of Chevron

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

Chevron Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $393.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $175.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.50.

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

Chevron Increases Dividend

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

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.