Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price Up 0.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)’s share price was up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $145.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Exxon Mobil traded as high as $119.72 and last traded at $119.10. Approximately 3,385,660 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 18,095,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.63.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Exxon Mobil from $114.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Exxon Mobil in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $147.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,845. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the first quarter worth $27,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. IMA Wealth Inc. increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 720.0% during the second quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 369 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.30. The firm has a market cap of $468.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.96.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.28. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $84.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

About Exxon Mobil

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.