Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price Up 2.4% – Should You Buy?

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s share price traded up 2.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $133.73 and last traded at $133.63. 18,762,099 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 19,853,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XOM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Exxon Mobil from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Mizuho upped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.00.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 2.4%

The firm has a market cap of $563.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $83.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $83.09 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 8.99%.The company’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.88%.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $351,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 28,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,349,758.96. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 1,595.2% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Exxon Mobil

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.