Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $127.00 to $130.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Exxon Mobil traded as high as $124.18 and last traded at $123.88, with a volume of 3274885 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $122.58.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on XOM. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $157.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 360.0% in the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 918.9% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 377 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.89.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.10. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $93.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.57%.

About Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas.