Shares of
Chevron
were rising early on Thursday after the oil-and-gas company got a second upgrade from analysts in as many days.
Strategists at RBC led by Biraj Borkhataria lifted their price target for
Chevron
(ticker: CVX) to $180 from $165 and raised its rating to Outperform. On Wednesday, J.P. Morgan analysts upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $170.
Chevron’s stock has struggled this year after the company reported record profits in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent crude prices soaring. Oil prices have since fallen back, lowering the profitability of oil producers like Chevron and larger rival
Exxon
(XOM), but RBC and
J.P. Morgan
said Chevron remains well-positioned.
Both sets of analysts said that Chevron was a good defensive option. While concerns that oil demand is weakening is keeping a lid on prices, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has also shown willingness to prop up prices with output cuts.
Separately, Chevron was added to the S&P 500 EDS Index in April, a collection of stocks noted for their environmental, social, and governance standards. S&P Global even scored Chevron higher than electric-vehicle maker
Tesla
(TSLA).
Chevron was up 0.8% at $151.86 in premarket trading after falling 1.6% on Wednesday.
Oil prices were little changed on Thursday.
West Texas Intermediate,
the U.S. benchmark, was down 0.1% at $68.03 a barrel.
Brent crude,
the international standard, was unchanged at $72.57 a barrel.
Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com
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