Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $121.30 and last traded at $120.8360, with a volume of 3935793 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $119.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $119.00 to $118.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.45.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.25. The stock has a market cap of $508.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.38.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $57.55 billion for the quarter. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 8.99%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $351,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 28,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,758.96. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,647 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.6% during the third quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 5,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.8% in the second quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,056 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Sagace Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sagace Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Edge Advisors LLC grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.3% during the second quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 32,031 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,453,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Exxon Mobil

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.