Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $110.57 and last traded at $111.12. Approximately 2,004,351 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 13,692,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XOM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $118.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.84.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $489.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $113.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $90.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.98 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 9.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.27 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.99 dividend. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the third quarter worth $51,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.