ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Down 1% – Here’s Why

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s stock price was down 1% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $159.78 and last traded at $160.4810. Approximately 10,565,053 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 18,483,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.14.

Key Headlines Impacting ExxonMobil

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil plans to drill its first exploration well offshore Greece in decades in early 2027. The project could provide exposure to additional Mediterranean reserves, although any financial benefit remains several years away. ExxonMobil VP Ardill: Drilling of first exploration well offshore Greece in decades in early 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Vietnam’s BSR signed a framework agreement with ExxonMobil Asia Pacific to supply crude for its Dung Quat refinery. The deal supports ExxonMobil’s trading and supply relationships in Asia, though specific volumes and financial terms were not disclosed. Vietnam refinery signs crude oil deal with ExxonMobil Asia Pacific
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target for XOM from $168 to $169 while maintaining a Neutral rating, implying limited but positive upside based on the referenced price. ExxonMobil price target raised by Goldman Sachs
• Positive Sentiment: A separate report placed the average analyst price target at $167.30, offering some support for the stock’s valuation. ExxonMobil Corporation stock average price target

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on ExxonMobil from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America downgraded shares of ExxonMobil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded ExxonMobil from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of ExxonMobil in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ExxonMobil has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.26.

ExxonMobil Trading Down 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $665.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $159.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.04). ExxonMobil had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $114.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

ExxonMobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio is 53.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ExxonMobil in the 4th quarter valued at $7,625,063,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in ExxonMobil by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,605,353 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,608,488,000 after acquiring an additional 531,362 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in ExxonMobil by 5.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 28,364,314 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,812,790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540,902 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in ExxonMobil by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 24,511,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,158,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192,386 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 10,214,420 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ExxonMobil

Exxon Mobil Corporation, doing business as ExxonMobil, is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations support oil and natural gas production in multiple regions worldwide, while its downstream businesses refine crude oil into fuels and other petroleum products for commercial, industrial and consumer markets.

Through its product solutions businesses, ExxonMobil manufactures and markets lubricants, specialty fluids, petroleum-derived products and chemical products, including commodity and performance chemicals used in packaging, automotive components, construction materials and other industrial applications.