Low oil prices weigh on Chevron

Article Excerpt

CHEVRON CORP. $161 is a buy. The company (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $305.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.chevron.com) is the second-largest integrated oil producer in the U.S. by revenue after ExxonMobil (New York symbol XOM). In the second quarter of 2023, Chevron’s production rose 2.2%, to 2.96 million barrels a day from a year earlier. However, due to lower oil and gas prices, earnings before unusual items fell 49.2%, to $5.87 billion from $11.37 billion. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share earnings declined at a slower rate of 47.1%, to $3.08 from $5.82. The company also expects to complete its $6.3 billion all-stock purchase of rival oil and gas producer PDC Energy Inc. (Nasdaq symbol PDCE) in August 2023. The new operations will add $1 billion to Chevron’s annual free cash flow (regular cash flow less capital expenditures). Chevron Corp. is a buy. buy…