Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Trading Up 1.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) rose 1.7% on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $174.00 to $212.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Chevron traded as high as $212.46 and last traded at $211.3090. Approximately 13,883,937 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 13,088,958 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.79.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on CVX. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Chevron from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Chevron in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chevron from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.65, for a total transaction of $10,941,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,614,466.70. This represents a 87.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Eimear P. Bonner sold 32,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was 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 owned 4,366 shares in the company, valued at $764,093.66. This represents a 88.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,099,397 shares of company stock worth $196,196,468 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Australian cyclone knocked out production at major LNG hubs, tightening global gas supply and supporting higher energy prices, a tailwind for Chevron’s commodity-linked cash flow. Cyclone Causes Outages at Australia’s Top LNG Projects
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $212 and set an “overweight” rating, signaling buy-side support and helping push CVX higher. Benzinga: Morgan Stanley price target
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein also lifted its price target on Chevron amid a stronger crude backdrop, reinforcing the narrative that majors benefit from the current oil rally. MSN: Bernstein price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised FY2026/FY2027 EPS forecasts for Chevron, reflecting better-than-expected earnings power as oil prices stay elevated. MarketBeat: Erste Group EPS revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Market positioning has shifted to defensive, dividend-paying sectors; several market roundups note oil majors including CVX outperforming amid geopolitical risk. Seeking Alpha: Market shifts to defense
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets and analysts praise Chevron’s low breakeven, high-quality asset base and dividend profile, which supports momentum and income-focused buying. Zacks: Chevron momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Chevron reported production outages at its Australian Gorgon and Wheatstone facilities tied to the cyclone — positive for global price signals but a near-term hit to CVX production, leaving the net impact mixed. Reuters: Chevron outage
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus brokerage coverage remains around “hold” even as some firms raise targets — suggests upside is recognized but some caution persists. AmericanBankingNews: Consensus hold
• Negative Sentiment: Political/insider optics: a U.S. Representative who publicly backed military action sold Chevron stock at all-time highs, drawing negative headlines and governance/PR risk. Benzinga: Congressman sold Chevron stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary raises macro risk scenarios (e.g., high oil in $130–$140 range) that could hurt economic growth and introduce volatility—even if commodity-linked cash flows initially rise. Seeking Alpha: $130-$140 oil risks

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McAlvany Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $1,729,000. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $694,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC bought a new stake in Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,986,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Chevron by 13.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Lane Brothers & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $283,000. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Trading Up 1.7%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.14. The firm has a market cap of $421.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $45.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 3.4%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.91%.

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.