Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Lowered to “Underperform” Rating by BNP Paribas Exane

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) was downgraded by stock analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $125.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s price target points to a potential downside of 9.75% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Exxon Mobil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho raised their price target on Exxon Mobil from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.27.

Exxon Mobil Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of XOM opened at $138.51 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.34. Exxon Mobil has a 1 year low of $97.80 and a 1 year high of $142.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $584.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $82.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.98 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exxon Mobil will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $351,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 28,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,349,758.96. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 15.3% in the first quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the first quarter worth approximately $305,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,237 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 209,223 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $22,554,000 after buying an additional 26,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 17,157 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,850,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Company Profile

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is an integrated oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, production, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum products and the manufacture and sale of petrochemicals. Its operations span the full energy value chain, including upstream exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas; midstream transportation and storage; and downstream refining, product distribution and retail. The company also produces a broad range of chemical products for industrial and consumer applications.

ExxonMobil markets fuels and lubricants under well-known brands such as Exxon, Mobil and Esso, and its Mobil 1 motor oil is a prominent consumer product.