Exxon Mobil Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:XOM)

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 111,114 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 30% compared to the typical volume of 85,524 call options.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.75, for a total transaction of $698,750.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 23,584 shares in the company, valued at $3,295,864. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,406,570. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 456.1% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 228 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on XOM. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Exxon Mobil from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.59.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:XOM opened at $149.28 on Friday. 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 cap of $629.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.78 and a 200-day moving average of $117.30. Exxon Mobil has a one year low of $97.80 and a one year high of $149.57.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.08. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The business had revenue of $82.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. Exxon Mobil’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 61.58%.

Exxon Mobil News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options activity — traders bought ~111,114 XOM call contracts (about 30% above typical call volume), signalling short‑term bullish positioning that can amplify upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Exxon is expanding production in several OPEC‑linked nations with U.S. administration support, which investors interpret as accelerated growth/market access upside. Exxon Mobil Stock Is Rising Today: What’s Going?
• Positive Sentiment: Operational growth: Exxon is pushing Permian output using new tech and plans further production increases — supports higher future cash flow expectations. ExxonMobil’s Permian Push: Here’s What Investors Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: Refinery/asset progress: startup of a new Baytown unit reduces execution risk and should support downstream margins/volumes. Exxon Mobil starts up new Baytown unit
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst/upgrades momentum and bullish coverage (Evercore keeping buy, several upgrades) has supported sentiment and helped lift the stock into a new 1‑year range. Evercore ISI Keeps Their Buy Rating on Exxon Mobil (XOM)
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio refocus: Exxon closed the Fife plant and struck a Colombia deal — strategic reshaping that could improve long‑term mix but may not meaningfully change near‑term cash flow. ExxonMobil Refocuses Portfolio With Colombia Deal And Fife Plant Closure
• Neutral Sentiment: Market/sector tailwinds: energy sector rotation and favorable commodity factors (weather-driven gas drawdowns, higher oil demand forecasts) support XOM, but they are macro drivers shared across peers. Energy sector context and XOM commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Broker pushback: BNP Paribas Exane downgraded XOM to Underperform, creating some selling pressure and adding analyst divergence risk. BNP Paribas Exane Downgrades Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) to Underperform
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: an officer sold 5,000 shares — a small signal that may be noticed by some investors but is not material to company fundamentals. Darrin Talley Sells 5,000 Shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock

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.