ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $164.45.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on XOM shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on ExxonMobil from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. HSBC increased their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of ExxonMobil from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of ExxonMobil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $195.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

More ExxonMobil News

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil said it is expanding in Nigeria with a $1 billion Usan Infill Project, which is expected to restore drilling activity there and add about 40,000 barrels per day within 18 months. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts say strong commodity tailwinds, including higher crude prices and margin gains, could lift XOM’s second-quarter results and support near-term earnings strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Oil-market commentary suggests major U.S. producers, including ExxonMobil, could benefit financially from geopolitical disruption and higher crude prices, without needing to materially increase drilling right away. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some market coverage says XOM’s valuation looks reasonable on earnings, but the stock may be stretched after a large multi-year run, which could limit upside if expectations get too high. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its price target on ExxonMobil to $170 and kept a neutral stance, signaling less aggressive upside expectations from one Wall Street firm. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent trading commentary noted XOM underperformed the broader market in a down session, reflecting investor caution around energy stocks when crude prices soften. Article Title

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ExxonMobil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of XOM. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ExxonMobil by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 231,488 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,857,000 after buying an additional 14,233 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ExxonMobil by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 1,048,409 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $126,166,000 after buying an additional 23,668 shares during the period. Clear Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ExxonMobil during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,728,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ExxonMobil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,907,000. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,664,995 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $200,366,000 after acquiring an additional 38,492 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ExxonMobil Stock Performance

NYSE XOM traded up $1.38 on Friday, hitting $138.84. 9,747,202 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,727,811. The company has a market capitalization of $575.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $146.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.38. ExxonMobil has a 52-week low of $105.53 and a 52-week high of $176.41.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $83.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.13 billion. ExxonMobil had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 7.57%.ExxonMobil’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that ExxonMobil will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

ExxonMobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil 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.