Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Pessimistic Forecast for ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $193.00 to $186.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.68% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded ExxonMobil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on ExxonMobil from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $180.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Freedom Broker raised their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $142.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.54.

ExxonMobil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XOM opened at $166.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $169.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.88. The stock has a market cap of $679.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.16. ExxonMobil has a one year low of $114.19 and a one year high of $188.50.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.11. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $110.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that ExxonMobil will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ExxonMobil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in ExxonMobil by 1.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 31,933,523 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,197,181,000 after buying an additional 465,409 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 28,364,314 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,812,790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540,902 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 5.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 24,511,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,158,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,386 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in ExxonMobil by 153.3% in the 2nd quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 16,877,523 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,307,497,000 after purchasing an additional 10,214,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in ExxonMobil by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,376,418 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,099,783,000 after purchasing an additional 693,800 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting ExxonMobil

Investors following XOM have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: One valuation article argues XOM may be undervalued, with investors assessing the cash-flow potential of its portfolio and recent deals. This is an analyst-style view rather than a company announcement. ExxonMobil stock may be undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: Exxon said the Middle East will remain an important driver of energy prices. That underscores the potential benefit of stronger oil prices as well as the risk of volatility. The Motley Fool: What Exxon, Chevron and Shell said about oil
• Negative Sentiment: Exxon has previously called Venezuela “uninvestable” after its assets were seized, so renewed activity carries political and investment risks. The current agreement is non-binding and does not establish a firm project commitment. New York Post: Exxon’s preliminary Venezuela deal

ExxonMobil Company Profile

ExxonMobil is an integrated energy and chemical company with operations spanning the oil and natural gas value chain. Its businesses explore for and produce crude oil and natural gas, refine and market fuels, and manufacture chemicals and other specialty products. The company’s products include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemical feedstocks and materials used in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications. ExxonMobil also pursues lower-emission solutions, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and lower-emission fuels.