Comparing Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Vista Energy (NYSE:VIST)

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Vista Energy (NYSE:VIST) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Exxon Mobil and Vista Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Exxon Mobil	0	10	9	1	2.55
Vista Energy	1	1	3	2	2.86

Exxon Mobil presently has a consensus target price of $126.05, indicating a potential upside of 12.79%. Vista Energy has a consensus target price of $65.10, indicating a potential upside of 81.26%. Given Vista Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vista Energy is more favorable than Exxon Mobil.

Risk & Volatility

Exxon Mobil has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vista Energy has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.8% of Exxon Mobil shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.8% of Vista Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Exxon Mobil shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Exxon Mobil and Vista Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Exxon Mobil	9.17%	11.34%	6.79%
Vista Energy	29.12%	12.02%	4.55%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Exxon Mobil and Vista Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Exxon Mobil	$329.39 billion	1.45	$33.68 billion	$7.04	15.87
Vista Energy	$1.65 billion	2.08	$477.52 million	$5.55	6.47

Exxon Mobil has higher revenue and earnings than Vista Energy. Vista Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Exxon Mobil, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Vista Energy beats Exxon Mobil on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas. The Energy Products segment offers fuels, aromatics, catalysts, and licensing services. It sells its products under the Exxon, Esso, and Mobil brands. The Chemical Products segment manufactures and markets petrochemicals, including olefins, polyolefins, and intermediates. The Specialty Products segment offers performance products, including lubricants, basestocks, waxes, synthetics, elastomers, and resins. The company is also involved in the manufacturing, trade, transport, and selling crude oil, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemicals, and other specialty products in pursuit of lower-emission business opportunities, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, lower-emission fuels, and lithium. Exxon Mobil Corporation was founded in 1870 and is based in Spring, Texas.

About Vista Energy

Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas in Latin America. The company's principal assets located in Neuquina basin, Argentina and Vaca Muerta. It owns producing assets in Argentina and Mexico. In addition, the company involved in drilling and workover activities located in Argentina. The company was formerly known as Vista Oil & Gas, S.A.B. de C.V. and changed its name to Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. in April 2022. Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Mexico City, Mexico.