(Bloomberg) -- Chevron Corp. surged to a record Thursday morning after the oil titan announced a larger-than-expected dividend increase amid the highest crude prices since 2014. 

The shares rose as much as 3.3% to $137 in New York trading, extending the 12-month advance to about 55%. Chevron increased its quarterly payout by 6% to $1.42 a share after the close of regular trading on Wednesday, exceeding the Bloomberg Dividend Forecast by a penny.

The dividend increase and the company’s existing share repurchase program mean Chevron will distribute more than 40% of this year’s cash flow from operations to investors, Jefferies International Ltd. analysts Giacomo Romeo and Jamie Franklin said in a note to clients. That’s “materially higher” than the 33% sector average, they wrote.

The U.S. supermajor is scheduled to disclose quarterly results on Friday.   

(Adds share price in second paragraph, analysts’ comment in third paragraph.)

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