ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Up 1.4% – Time to Buy?

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shot up 1.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $163.32 and last traded at $162.7090. 20,621,976 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 21,322,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.49.

Key Headlines Impacting ExxonMobil

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil is reportedly in talks to acquire rights to produce oil in Venezuela, a potential reopening of a market it left roughly 20 years ago and had recently called “uninvestable,” which could add a meaningful long-term production opportunity if geopolitical conditions allow. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Exxon, QatarEnergy, and Egypt signed a preliminary agreement to study Cyprus gas development, reinforcing ExxonMobil’s LNG and gas growth strategy and its ability to monetize new discoveries through existing regional infrastructure. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlighted ExxonMobil’s resilience, pointing to its strong balance sheet, low debt, and ability to keep funding projects and dividends even when oil and gas prices fluctuate. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil’s LNG footprint is expanding, with coverage noting rising power demand and additional export capacity as supportive of long-term growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical analysis suggests XOM is pulling back after a breakout and testing support levels, which leaves the near-term trend dependent on whether buyers defend those levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles on valuation, peer comparisons, and “top oil stock” watchlists may support investor interest, but they do not add a major new fundamental catalyst by themselves. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing governance and proxy-adviser conflict headlines, including Exxon’s fight with ISS and Glass Lewis, keep legal and boardroom friction in view and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on XOM. Citigroup lifted their price objective on ExxonMobil from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on ExxonMobil from $128.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of ExxonMobil in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research lowered ExxonMobil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on ExxonMobil from $135.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.95.

ExxonMobil Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $644.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $155.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.83.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $83.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.13 billion. ExxonMobil had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 7.57%.ExxonMobil’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.49 earnings per share for the current year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. ExxonMobil’s payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 1,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.50, for a total transaction of $167,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,124 shares in the company, valued at $2,662,782. The trade was a 5.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ExxonMobil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ExxonMobil in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,625,063,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ExxonMobil in the 1st quarter valued at about $965,932,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of ExxonMobil in the 1st quarter valued at about $766,345,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of ExxonMobil by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,728,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,366,655,000 after buying an additional 2,660,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of ExxonMobil by 218.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,380,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $155,696,000 after buying an additional 2,546,791 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is an integrated oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, production, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum products and the manufacture and sale of petrochemicals. Its operations span the full energy value chain, including upstream exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas; midstream transportation and storage; and downstream refining, product distribution and retail. The company also produces a broad range of chemical products for industrial and consumer applications.

ExxonMobil markets fuels and lubricants under well-known brands such as Exxon, Mobil and Esso, and its Mobil 1 motor oil is a prominent consumer product.