Lower costs protect this dividend

Article Excerpt

CHEVRON CORP. $90 remains a buy. The leading integrated oil and gas producer (New York symbol CVX; Cyclical-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $171.0 billion; Dividend yield: 5.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.chevron.com) last raised its quarterly dividend for investors with the March 2020 payment by 8.4%, to $1.29 a share from $1.19. The new annual rate of $5.16 yields a high 5.2%. The company plans to spend just $14 billion on exploration and upgrades in 2021. That’s roughly equal to its 2020 capital expenditures. Chevron also plans to spend between $14 billion and $16 billion a year through 2025. Before COVID-19, it aimed to spend $19 billion to $22 billion a year through 2024. Meantime, Chevron has now completed its purchase of Noble Energy Inc. (New York symbol NBL) in an all-stock transaction worth $4.1 billion. Based in Texas, Noble produces oil and natural gas at properties in the U.S., Israel and Equatorial Guinea. Combining the two businesses…