$CVX rises to a 52-week high in early trading after BMO Capital upgrades shares to Outperform from Market Perform with a $140 price target, up from $120, saying the ramping up of significant projects, tax reform and higher oil prices will benefit CVX's bottom line.

BMO believes 2018 will be a "year of delivery" for CVX and expects the company to announce "material share buybacks," modeling post-dividend cash surplus of ~4%, the highest since 2010.