Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC Invests $517,000 in ExxonMobil Corporation $XOM

Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC bought a new position in ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,299 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $517,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of ExxonMobil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,625,063,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,605,353 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,608,488,000 after buying an additional 531,362 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,026,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,963,934,000 after buying an additional 445,283 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,728,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,366,655,000 after buying an additional 2,660,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,090,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,102,708,000 after buying an additional 293,446 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting ExxonMobil

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for ExxonMobil, signaling confidence in the company’s profit outlook and providing a supportive fundamental backdrop for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that ExxonMobil is exploring potential acquisition targets, including Australia’s Woodside Energy Group, suggest management may be looking to expand its natural gas footprint and pursue growth through M&A. Article: Exxon Mobil evaluates potential buyout of Australia Woodside Energy, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary describing ExxonMobil as a “constructive” value idea, along with articles highlighting its low debt and ability to handle business uncertainty, points to continued appeal as a defensive energy name.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader energy stocks were higher late Friday, which likely lifted ExxonMobil along with the sector. Article: Sector Update: Energy Stocks Higher Late Afternoon
• Neutral Sentiment: Reuters and other outlets also reported that ExxonMobil’s head of global trading is set to retire, but the move looks more like a routine leadership change than a major business disruption. Article: Exxon Mobil set to place Alex Volkov as head of global trading, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles noting ExxonMobil’s strong one-year share gains may reinforce the stock’s valuation debate, but they are unlikely to be the main driver of near-term trading.
• Negative Sentiment: Exxon’s planned work at its Beaumont, Texas complex could create temporary operational noise, though the notice did not suggest a major outage or earnings issue. Article: Exxon plans work at Beaumont, Texas complex, says online notice

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $128.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $135.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of ExxonMobil from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of ExxonMobil from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $159.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.55.

ExxonMobil Stock Performance

ExxonMobil stock opened at $146.80 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.55. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $608.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.16. ExxonMobil Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.53 and a 1-year high of $176.41.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $83.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.13 billion. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 10.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.