Chevron Corp reported on Friday a 27% year-on-year drop in its first-quarter earnings, with results pressured by lower crude oil prices and weaker margins in the company’s refining and chemicals businesses. Still, first-quarter profit exceeded Wall Street estimates.
Chevron shares closed lower for a third consecutive trading session in New York on Friday. The stock went down 0.68% ($0.80) to $117.10, after touching an intraday low at $115.65, or a price level not seen since January 31st ($113.38).
Shares of Chevron Corp have risen 7.64% so far in 2019 compared with a 17.27% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
In 2018, Chevron’s stock went down 13.10%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.
Total revenue went down to $35.2 billion during the first quarter from $37.64 billion in the year-ago period.
Chevron said that its production of oil and gas had increased to 3.04 billion barrels per day during the first quarter from 2.85 billion barrels a year earlier. However, the price for a barrel of US crude oil and natural gas reportedly dropped to $48 during the quarter from $56 in the year-ago period.
As a result of lower prices and weaker gasoline margins, net income attributable to shareholders shrank to $2.65 billion ($1.39 per share) during the first quarter from $3.64 billion ($1.90 per share) in the same period a year ago. In comparison, analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.30 per share.
According to analysts at Edward Jones, despite earnings beat, market players’ focus will probably be set on Chevron’s takeover battle for Anadarko Petroleum Corp with Occidental.
”We would not be surprised to see Chevron raise its offer,” the analysts wrote in a research note, cited by Reuters. They also noted that, in their view, Chevron’s bid would ”ultimately be the successful one.”
Chevron said it had made a $33 billion offer to acquire oil and gas producer Anadarko, which compares with a $38 billion bid made by Occidental Petroleum Corp.
According to CNN Money, the 17 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Chevron Corp’s stock price, have a median target of $140.00, with a high estimate of $155.00 and a low estimate of $120.00. The median estimate represents a 19.56% upside compared to the closing price of $117.10 on April 26th.
The same media also reported that 14 out of 22 surveyed investment analysts had rated Chevron Corp’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”.
Weekly Pivot Levels
By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Chevron Corp (CVX) are presented as follows:
Central Pivot Point – $118.34
R1 – $121.04
R2 – $124.97
R3 – $127.67
R4 – $130.36
S1 – $114.41
S2 – $111.71
S3 – $107.78
S4 – $103.84
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