By Sabrina Valle
HOUSTON – Shares of U.S. oil major Chevron Corp on Wednesday touched an all-time high intraday amid a strong stock market rally and ahead of the release of Chevron’s fourth-quarter financial results on Friday.
Shares of most major producers rose after oil touched $90 a barrel for the first time in seven years on Wednesday. Some Wall Street analysts estimate oil could go further and cross $100 per barrel by mid-year.
Chevron shares traded as high as $134.71, above the previous record of $133.60 set in January 2018 before retracing some of the gain and closing at $132.69.
Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil producer, is expected to post earnings per share of $3.12 in the fourth quarter, according to 19 investment analysts polled by Refinitiv, compared with a 20-cent loss a year ago.
“Higher commodity prices would be a major positive for upstream segment,” Credit Suisse analyst Manav Gupta wrote in a report this month.
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Analysts on average set a price target of $137.29 per share, according to Refinitiv data. Three out of 32 analysts polled by Refinitiv have upgraded Chevron since October from “hold” to “buy.”
(Graphic: Chevron hits record high, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/egpbklnedvq/Pasted%20image%201643233878225.png)
(Reporting by Sabrina Valle; Editing by Leslie Adler and Marguerita Choy)