Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $126.50.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on XOM shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. HSBC reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $141.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of XOM opened at $108.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $109.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $469.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.61. Exxon Mobil has a one year low of $97.80 and a one year high of $126.34.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Exxon Mobil will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,936,737,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 14,242.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,457,554 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,124,787,000 after buying an additional 9,391,614 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 14.4% in 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 buying an additional 5,538,694 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,110,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,936,929,000 after acquiring an additional 4,415,012 shares during the period. 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.