Chevron (CVX) Stock: Jim Cramer Says Hold as CVX Approaches 52-Week High

TLDR

• Jim Cramer recommends holding CVX, citing its 3.85% dividend yield and consistency
• Quarterly EPS of $1.52 beat estimates by $0.08, though revenue fell 10.2% year-over-year
• Quarterly dividend raised to $1.78 per share, annualized at $7.12 (~3.8% yield)
• Multiple institutional investors increased their positions; institutional ownership stands at 72.42%
• Insiders sold $89.5M worth of stock last quarter; analyst consensus is “Hold” with a $176.36 price target

Chevron (CVX) is drawing attention from both Wall Street analysts and retail investors as the stock climbed 1.3% to open at $186.47 on Friday — near its 52-week high of $187.90.

Chevron Corporation, CVX

Jim Cramer weighed in during a recent episode, telling a caller he’d hold the stock. “I think it can go up a lot,” Cramer said, pointing to the dividend yield and what he called Chevron’s “consistency.”

He also flagged a potential upside from Chevron’s ongoing operations in Venezuela, describing it as a “kicker” for the stock.

Dividend Gets a Bump

Chevron recently raised its quarterly dividend from $1.71 to $1.78 per share. That works out to $7.12 annualized — a yield of roughly 3.8%. The dividend will be paid March 10 to shareholders of record as of February 17.

The dividend payout ratio sits at 106.91%, meaning Chevron is paying out more in dividends than it’s currently earning — something worth watching.

Earnings Miss on Revenue, Beat on EPS

In its most recent quarterly report on January 30, Chevron posted EPS of $1.52, beating the $1.44 consensus estimate. However, revenue came in at $45.79 billion, missing the $48.18 billion expectation and down 10.2% from the same quarter last year.

Net margin was 6.51% and return on equity was 7.89%. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $10.79.

That year-over-year EPS drop is hard to ignore — Chevron posted $2.06 EPS in the same quarter a year ago.

Institutions Are Adding

Several institutional investors increased their CVX positions in Q3. Trivium Point Advisory LLC raised its stake by 73.9%, picking up 6,855 additional units to hold 16,131 worth roughly $2.5 million.

American Century Companies was the biggest mover, adding 810,086 units — a 45.6% increase — bringing its total to 2,586,278 valued at around $401.6 million.

Berkshire Hathaway also added to its Chevron position following Warren Buffett’s exit from the firm’s leadership.

Total institutional ownership now stands at 72.42%.

Insiders Heading for the Exits

While institutions are buying, insiders have been selling. Over the last quarter, insiders offloaded 534,898 units valued at $89.5 million.

Vice Chairman Mark A. Nelson sold 45,800 units on February 2 at an average of $174.17, reducing his position by 86.48%. Insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 1,463 units on February 18 at $183.83.

Insiders currently own just 0.21% of the company.

What Analysts Are Saying

Analyst opinions are mixed. UBS has a buy rating with a $212 price target. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed outperform with a $190 target. JPMorgan upgraded CVX from neutral to overweight with a $176 target.

On the other side, a DCF-based valuation piece estimated CVX is overvalued by around 30%, putting intrinsic value closer to $126.

The consensus across 24 analysts is “Hold” with an average price target of $176.36 — below where the stock is currently trading.

CVX’s 50-day moving average sits at $169.52 and its 200-day at $159.57. The stock has a market cap of $372 billion, a PE ratio of 28, and a beta of 0.70.