Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading 1% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was up 1% on Friday after HSBC raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $158.00. HSBC currently has a hold rating on the stock. Exxon Mobil traded as high as $162.44 and last traded at $159.75. Approximately 53,802,023 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 144% from the average daily volume of 22,031,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.16.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Exxon Mobil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Exxon Mobil from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $118.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.89.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.75, for a total transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 11,460 shares of company stock valued at $1,687,854 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Exxon Mobil News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are revising earnings and targets up across the integrated-oil group after the Middle East supply shock, which supports higher oil-price assumptions and makes XOM more attractive to income/value investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC raised Exxon’s price target (reported coverage) — a signal that some institutional analysts see limited downside versus current levels and are moving to higher targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho lifted XOM’s price target to $162 and raised its oil-price outlook, reflecting expectations for stronger 2026 commodity-driven cash flow. That supports valuation upgrades and positive sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector rotation into energy and materials is accelerating as the market re-prices commodity-linked assets — a technical tailwind for XOM as investors shift into energy. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational growth: Exxon is accelerating oil & gas project timelines in Guyana (new floating production facilities nearing deployment), which supports medium-term production growth and value realization. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Trading/marketing strength: Exxon is among firms shipping record U.S. fuel volumes to Australia to fill supply gaps, demonstrating lucrative trading opportunities amid disrupted global flows. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro: the S&P 500 is under pressure as oil spikes past $100–$120/bbl — this drags broader risk assets even as energy names outperform; net effect for XOM is positive for revenues but mixed for market multiples. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate housekeeping: Exxon announced a planned redomiciliation to Texas — a structural/legal change that’s unlikely to move fundamentals near-term but matters for governance/tax positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio move: Exxon sold its stake in North Atlantic Energies, a small ownership shift that is not material to XOM’s consolidated results but removes a minor holding. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Security/damage risk: Iranian strikes damaged LNG facilities at Qatar’s Ras Laffan (Exxon is a JV partner), cutting Qatar’s export capacity by ~17% and creating multi-year repair timelines and near-term revenue losses for partners — a direct operational hit for joint ventures even as it props up energy prices globally. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in XOM. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 75,152,366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,043,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457,560 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter worth $7,625,063,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,605,353 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,608,488,000 after purchasing an additional 531,362 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,026,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,963,934,000 after purchasing an additional 445,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 7.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,728,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,366,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660,910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 1.0%

The firm has a market cap of $665.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is presently 61.58%.

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.