Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading Up 1.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shares shot up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after BNP Paribas upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $120.47 and last traded at $118.0950. 23,782,192 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 48% from the average session volume of 16,075,354 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.98.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on XOM. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 15th. Melius started coverage on Exxon Mobil in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised Exxon Mobil from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Exxon Mobil in a report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, December 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XOM. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.6% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 159,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,966,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 39.8% during the third quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 10,530 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares in the last quarter. Stillwater Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,870,000. Investment Research Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $293,000. Finally, Cambria Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 105,757 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,924,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 1.8%

The stock has a market cap of $498.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.18 and a 200-day moving average of $111.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $57.55 billion during the quarter. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 8.99%. Equities research analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.88%.

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.