Chevron Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CVX)

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 111,021 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 58% compared to the typical daily volume of 70,122 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Alana K. Knowles sold 2,408 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.28, for a total value of $441,338.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 272,624 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.35, for a total transaction of $51,621,354.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,920,217.10. This represents a 89.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,099,397 shares of company stock valued at $196,196,468 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CVX. Castellan Group boosted its position in Chevron by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Castellan Group now owns 20,405 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Chevron by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,079 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of 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. acquired a new position in shares of Chevron in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,435,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron during the second quarter worth $843,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Price Performance

NYSE CVX opened at $197.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Chevron has a 12-month low of $132.04 and a 12-month high of $198.88.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Chevron had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 6.51%.The business had revenue of $45.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Chevron will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target and reiterated an “overweight” stance on CVX, giving institutional investors a fresh bullish valuation reference. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Macro support: oil prices and geopolitical risk in the Middle East have pushed Chevron to new highs this week, lifting sentiment for integrated producers that benefit from higher crude. MarketBeat
• Positive Sentiment: Gulf of Mexico expansion: Chevron increased its footprint in the recent lease sale/auction, signaling continued investment in U.S. deepwater growth. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: Project development: Chevron Cyprus has advanced a Cyprus offshore gas project (Worley awarded FEED), indicating future production & gas sales potential in the Eastern Med. TipRanks
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy bullish options flow: an unusual spike in call buying shows short‑term speculative/hedging interest that can amplify upward moves.
• Neutral Sentiment: Gorgon/LNG ownership shifts: MidOcean’s move to increase a stake in Gorgon LNG reflects ongoing portfolio shifts in Australian LNG, where Chevron is a long‑standing partner — monitor implications for JV economics. Offshore‑Technology
• Neutral Sentiment: Venezuela opportunity remains in play: reports that Chevron and Shell are nearing deals to revive Venezuelan production are positive long‑term but remain uncertain and subject to regulatory/geopolitical timing. MSN/Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: an SEC filing shows R. Hewitt Pate sold 47,200 shares recently — while insider sales can be routine, some investors interpret them as a signal to reduce exposure near rally highs. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory hit: Chevron agreed to a DOJ settlement (about $1M penalty and retirement of ~$3.6M in invalid renewable credits) — small financially but a reputational/legal reminder. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Asset sale in Angola: Energean’s acquisition of Chevron stakes in offshore Angolan blocks reduces CVX near‑term production exposure in that region; impact depends on sale price and redeployment of proceeds. Offshore‑Technology

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC downgraded Chevron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $179.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Chevron from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Chevron from $174.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Chevron from $204.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Thirteen research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.05.

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.