Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price Up 1.3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shot up 1.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $165.68 and last traded at $165.4310. 18,573,192 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 22,079,311 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.26.

Key Stories Impacting Exxon Mobil

Here are the key news stories impacting Exxon Mobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its XOM price target to $195 (from $159) and kept an Outperform rating after model updates — a direct catalyst for higher investor expectations. Bernstein Raises XOM Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Exxon was part of the team that delivered the industry’s first fully automated offshore well in Guyana — a demonstration of technology that can boost execution efficiency and lower development costs on future projects. Halliburton/XOM Guyana Automation
• Positive Sentiment: Exxon confirmed a team is in Venezuela evaluating oil and gas opportunities — reopening access to a large resource base could materially expand upstream prospects if commercial terms and sanctions risk allow. Exxon Evaluating Venezuela
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary and screener pieces point to an energy-sector rally as oil prices spike on Middle East war concerns — a macro tailwind for Exxon’s cash flows and dividend coverage. Energy Stocks Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry trend: producers are increasingly pursuing international acreage (“land grab”) as U.S. shale peaks — this is a strategic tailwind but execution and geopolitical risk vary by region. Producers Looking Abroad
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and market-note pieces highlight Exxon’s large market cap and dividend status versus tech peers — signals of rotation into energy but not an immediate operational change. Valuation Notes
• Negative Sentiment: Some market notes point to short-term pullbacks if de‑escalation occurs — oil can quickly retreat on positive diplomacy, which would pressure XOM’s near-term multiple. Oil Eases on De-escalation Buzz

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Exxon Mobil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Exxon Mobil from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.89.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.75 and a 200 day moving average of $127.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $689.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.35.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $80.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.98 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 8.68%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.75, for a total value of $698,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 23,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,864. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 11,460 shares of company stock valued at $1,687,854 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XOM. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.6% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 215,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $24,342,000 after purchasing an additional 5,573 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 306,658 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,576,000 after purchasing an additional 9,831 shares during the last quarter. Capital Counsel LLC NY lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Counsel LLC NY now owns 49,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,356,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 13,180 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after buying an additional 5,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 166,547 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $18,778,000 after buying an additional 8,853 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exxon Mobil Company Profile

Exxon Mobil 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.