ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Down 1.5% – Here’s Why

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s stock price traded down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $157.76 and last traded at $158.18. Approximately 14,111,263 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 19,015,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.64.

Key ExxonMobil News

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Permian production is a key growth driver. ExxonMobil’s Permian output reached a record, while increased drilling automation and planned expansion could raise production and improve operating efficiency. Can ExxonMobil’s Permian Growth Keep Driving Upstream Momentum?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley sees potential for a new record high. The bullish view reflects strong energy prices, solid earnings, and ExxonMobil’s more than 34% year-to-date gain, although the forecast remains dependent on commodity-market conditions. Morgan Stanley Sees ExxonMobil Breaking its Record High
• Positive Sentiment: Higher oil prices and valuation support remain favorable. A comparison with Enterprise Products Partners characterized XOM as offering greater upside leverage to elevated oil prices and a relatively cheaper valuation. XOM vs EPD: Which Stock Offers the Better Growth Opportunity?
• Neutral Sentiment: Potential acquisition of Shell’s U.S. chemical assets. Reports that ExxonMobil may pursue a transaction valued at roughly $8 billion could expand its chemicals business, but the effect would depend on the purchase price, financing, and industry conditions. ExxonMobil Is Eyeing a Potential $8 Billion Bet on Shell’s U.S. Chemical Plants
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend reliability attracts income investors. ExxonMobil has raised its dividend for 43 consecutive years, but recent increases of about 3% to 4.5% have been considerably smaller than historical hikes, limiting dividend-growth appeal. ExxonMobil Has Raised Its Dividend 43 Years in a Row
• Negative Sentiment: Oil’s Iran-related premium has diminished. As traders viewed sanctions as leverage for negotiations rather than an imminent supply disruption, crude prices retreated, reducing a major near-term earnings catalyst for ExxonMobil. Exxon Falls as Oil Erases the Iran Premium

Analyst Ratings Changes

XOM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of ExxonMobil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price objective on shares of ExxonMobil in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DZ Bank cut ExxonMobil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on ExxonMobil from $195.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on ExxonMobil from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.10.

ExxonMobil Stock Down 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $655.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.04). ExxonMobil had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $114.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. ExxonMobil’s payout ratio is currently 53.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ExxonMobil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in ExxonMobil by 8.3% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 492,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $83,525,000 after purchasing an additional 37,666 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co boosted its position in shares of ExxonMobil by 392.9% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 122,223 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $16,710,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares in the last quarter. CV Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of ExxonMobil by 126.7% during the 2nd quarter. CV Advisors LLC now owns 11,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,584,000 after buying an additional 6,478 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in ExxonMobil by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 1,048,409 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $126,166,000 after purchasing an additional 23,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Trust Co raised its position in shares of ExxonMobil by 3.9% during the first quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 710,969 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $120,623,000 after purchasing an additional 26,411 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ExxonMobil Company Profile

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.