S&P Equity Research Maintains Chevron (CVX) Strong Buy Rating

S&P Equity Research on Friday maintained its Strong Buy rating for Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) after the oil giant reported a 37% drop in earnings.

Analysts cut their 2010 earnings outlook for Chevron by 10 cents per share to $7.66 a share on weakness in the oil major's refining business.

However, a bright spot for Chevron was its oil exploration and production business. Chevron raised its net oil equivalent production by over 9% and has major developments ready to start producing within the next few years.

Shares of Chevron fell as low as $72.72 in recent trades following news of the drop in earnings.