ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price Up 2.5% – Still a Buy?

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shares traded up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $169.64 and last traded at $169.2780. Approximately 12,302,318 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 18,617,670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.08.

Key Headlines Impacting ExxonMobil

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Potential return to Venezuela: ExxonMobil is reportedly nearing a preliminary agreement to invest in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt, potentially involving the Petromonagas and Petrovictoria heavy-oil projects. Access to some of the world’s largest reserves could add substantial long-term production and resource value, although the talks remain preliminary. Exxon advances talks to return to Venezuela
• Positive Sentiment: Growth in natural gas and advantaged production: ExxonMobil is increasing its position and operating role in Papua New Guinea, where Asian LNG pricing could support returns. The company also expects LNG sales to reach 50 million tons annually by 2030, up from its prior 40-million-ton target, while Guyana and Permian Basin growth supports a goal of 5.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030. ExxonMobil Papua New Guinea operations
• Positive Sentiment: Lower-carbon businesses advance: Texas regulators approved ExxonMobil’s roughly $5 billion Rose carbon-capture project. Management expects lower-emission investments and new businesses such as carbon capture to potentially generate more than $1 billion in annual earnings by 2030, providing a possible future growth driver. ExxonMobil secures approval for Rose CCS
• Neutral Sentiment: Venezuela deal carries major execution risk: A return after nearly two decades could unlock large reserves, but sanctions, political instability, contract terms and the difficulty of developing heavy crude make the financial outcome uncertain. Exxon nears Venezuelan oil deal
• Negative Sentiment: Oil-price outlook is a headwind: Backwardation in oil futures suggests prices may decline as demand destruction and rising non-OPEC supply pressure the market, potentially reducing ExxonMobil’s upstream earnings and offsetting benefits from higher current prices. Oil prices and Federal Reserve risks
• Negative Sentiment: Refinery and climate concerns: A power outage shut ExxonMobil’s Joliet-area refinery, disrupting approximately 264,000 barrels per day of capacity. Separately, ExxonMobil’s higher 2050 emissions forecast could attract additional scrutiny from investors focused on climate risk. Exxon raises 2050 emissions forecast

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XOM has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ExxonMobil in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 target price on shares of ExxonMobil in a report on Monday, August 3rd. HSBC set a $158.00 price target on ExxonMobil in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ExxonMobil to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ExxonMobil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.45.

ExxonMobil Trading Down 0.4%

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $674.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $157.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.13.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $114.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.94 billion. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 13.14%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ExxonMobil

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in ExxonMobil by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 89,385 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,221,000 after purchasing an additional 5,705 shares during the period. Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in ExxonMobil in the second quarter worth $83,000. Talon Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in ExxonMobil by 30.6% in the second quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,194 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after buying an additional 5,440 shares during the last quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in ExxonMobil by 0.6% in the second quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 51,586 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,053,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miramontes Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 9.2% during the second quarter. Miramontes Capital LLC now owns 16,917 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.