13 Best Natural Gas and Oil Dividend Stocks To Buy

3. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 62

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) ranks third on our list of the best dividend stocks from the oil and gas industry. The company has made regular dividend payments to shareholders since 1984 and has raised its payouts for 37 consecutive years. It currently pays a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.16%, as of June 10.

Though companies in the oil sector are generous in paying dividends to shareholders, even when their cash generation is affected by low oil prices, they sometimes incur debt and leverage assets to sustain their payouts. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is also open-handed in paying dividends, considering that crude prices have fluctuated within a narrow range over the past several months and are lower than their $120 peak in 2022. In the first quarter of 2024, the company returned $3 billion to shareholders through dividends. Its cash flow from operations fell to $6.8 billion, from $7.2 billion in the prior-year period. This decline was mainly attributed to lower earnings and increased spending on expanding the retail marketing network and retiring assets. However, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, the company has the flexibility to invest in growth opportunities. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is currently in the process of acquiring Hess Corp (NYSE:HES), but the deal is still pending regulatory approval.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is one of the largest holdings of Warren Buffett. His hedge fund, Berkshire Hathaway, started investing in the company during the third quarter of 2020. Since then, the stock has surged by over 100%. CVX has delivered a nearly 5% return to shareholders this year so far.

Insider Monkey’s database of Q1 2024 indicated that 62 hedge funds held stakes in Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), compared with 72 in the preceding quarter. These stakes are worth over $23.2 billion in total.