Simmons analyst Blake Fernandez assumed Chevron with an Overweight rating and a price target of $139 as part of his broader research note on Integrated Oils, suggesting that the industry stands to benefit from the current stage of the energy cycle. Fernandez adds that Chevron is his Top Idea given that it had the worst year-to-date equity performance in the peer group and expects the stock to "play catch-up". The analyst further points to the company's "ample Permian takeaway capacity" as alleviation of "industry bottlenecks next year could prompt fund rotation back into equities with leverage" to the region.

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Exxon Mobil (XOM), consensus $2.20... Chevron (CVX), consensus $2.87... AbbVie (ABBV), consensus $2.23... HCA Healthcare (HCA), consensus $5.01... Colgate-Palmolive (CL), consensus 81c... Charter (CHTR), consensus $7.92... AutoNation (AN), consensus $4.27.

Chevron announced that its 50% owned affiliate Tengizchevroil has safely commenced operations at its Wellhead Pressure Management Project, or WPMP, at the Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan. TCO achieved this milestone by converting its first metering station at Tengiz to low pressure and activating the associated Pressure Boost Facility, or PBF. This marks important progress for TCO's overall expansion project at Tengiz. The WPMP is designed to maintain the existing processing plants' full capacity by lowering the flowing pressure at the wellheads and then boosting the pressure to the existing plants.