Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Should You Buy?

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) shares were up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $109.73 and last traded at $109.18. Approximately 2,809,042 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 14,658,629 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XOM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Exxon Mobil in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $478.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 50.51%.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XOM. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 7,761.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,893,677 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $808,077,000 after acquiring an additional 6,805,982 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,983,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,731,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,694 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 1,524.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,445,922 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $585,818,000 after purchasing an additional 5,110,603 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 16.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,936,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 168.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,530,457 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $531,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842,844 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.