Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Up 1.7% – Still a Buy?

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $110.06 and last traded at $109.53. 3,220,699 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 11,291,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XOM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.74.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 1.6 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $481.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.91.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.01. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $90.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.27 earnings per share. Exxon Mobil’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.32%.

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 4.9% in the second quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 483.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 39,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,567,000 after acquiring an additional 32,866 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 7.4% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 20,746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. BBR Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.6% in the second quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 74,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,543,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 11.8% in the second quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,282 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. 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.