Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) shares rose 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $118.27 and last traded at $117.52. Approximately 2,363,467 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 16,346,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Exxon Mobil from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $129.00 to $145.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.44.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $461.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $117.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.39.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.10. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $93.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Exxon Mobil’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 7.4% in the second quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 37,297 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,564 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 5.9% during the second quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,751 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,770,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 79.4% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 859,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $98,914,000 after buying an additional 380,399 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 64.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 967,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $111,392,000 after purchasing an additional 379,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in Exxon Mobil by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 135,391 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,738,000 after acquiring an additional 3,680 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Company Profile

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.