Chevron just announced a massive share repurchase programme

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) opened up this morning after the oil and gas behemoth authorised a massive share repurchase programme and raised its quarterly dividend.

What worth of shares will it buy back?

Late on Wednesday, the multinational announced a whopping $75 billion buyback to go in effect on April 1^st. The new programme replaces the one it announced in January 2019 of $25 billion.  

The boost to shareholder returns arrives after a year of significant increase in its profit driven both from the post-pandemic demand and the Ukraine war.

Chevron Corporation is set to report its Q4 results tomorrow. Consensus is for it to earn $4.16 a share that represents about a 63% annualised growth. Versus their low in late September, shares of the energy giant are up more than 30% at writing.

Chevron also raised its dividend payout

Also on Wednesday, Chevron Corporation announced a 6.0% year-on-year increase in its quarterly per-share dividend to $1.51.

For equity investors, it is also noteworthy that Jim Cramer is sticking to his bullish view on “CVX” for 2023. Recently on Mad Money, he said:

I’m a big believer in oil stocks for 2023. But they’re not going to be as great as last year. You have to be selective. But as long as oil stays above $60 and I think it will, Chevron has a good chance.

His constructive stance is in line with Wall Street that also currently rates the oil stock at “overweight”. In its latest reported quarter, the California-based company had an enormous free cash flow of more than $12 billion.