ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Climb 1.3% – Still a Buy?

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $166.75 and last traded at $166.5440. Approximately 13,147,537 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 17,668,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.47.

Recent ExxonMobil Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about XOM:

• Positive Sentiment: Exxon raised its dividend 3.9% to $1.07 per quarter per share, its 44th consecutive annual increase, and plans $20 billion in share buybacks in 2027. The article cites more than $39 billion in free cash flow through September as support for shareholder distributions. Dividend and buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Oil prices near $96 a barrel may support Exxon’s upstream earnings, particularly from lower-cost assets such as the Permian and Guyana. Oil prices and Exxon
• Negative Sentiment: Bernstein lowered its price target to $186 from $193, while retaining an “outperform” rating, and warned that oil stocks may struggle to appreciate. Bernstein target reduction

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XOM has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Freedom Capital raised shares of ExxonMobil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of ExxonMobil in a report on Monday, September 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded ExxonMobil from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded ExxonMobil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.79.

ExxonMobil Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $693.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $169.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.06.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $110.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.89 billion. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 16.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

ExxonMobil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from ExxonMobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ExxonMobil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CPA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Prasad Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in ExxonMobil by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prasad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. DSG Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,046 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,611,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WP Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ExxonMobil by 3.0% during the third quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 2,167 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ExxonMobil Company Profile

ExxonMobil is an integrated energy and chemical company with operations spanning the oil and natural gas value chain. Its businesses explore for and produce crude oil and natural gas, refine and market fuels, and manufacture chemicals and other specialty products. The company’s products include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemical feedstocks and materials used in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications. ExxonMobil also pursues lower-emission solutions, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and lower-emission fuels.