ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Down 3.6% – Should You Sell?

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) dropped 3.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $162.56 and last traded at $163.1940. 13,267,390 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 18,586,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.32.

Key ExxonMobil News

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil raised its long-term LNG sales target to 50 million metric tons annually by 2030, up from 40 million tons previously. The increase reflects management’s confidence in sustained global LNG demand and strengthens the company’s growth outlook. ExxonMobil’s LNG Ambitions Just Got A Major Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil’s subsidiary completed cash tender offers for more than $1.18 billion of Pioneer Natural Resources notes, advancing post-acquisition debt integration and potentially simplifying its capital structure. ExxonMobil Stock Gains as Pioneer Debt Tender Results Top $1.18 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Texas regulators approved the Rose carbon-capture and storage project, a proposed $5 billion development covering about 13,000 acres. The project could create a new lower-carbon business opportunity, although its economics depend on execution and policy support. Texas Regulator Approves Exxon’s Carbon Capture Project
• Positive Sentiment: Higher crude prices, driven by concerns over supply disruptions, are favorable for ExxonMobil’s upstream earnings and are helping support broader energy-sector sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: ExxonMobil is targeting upstream production of 5.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, led by low-cost assets in Guyana and the Permian Basin. Analysts are also questioning whether Guyana output could temporarily weaken, making execution a key issue for investors. Will ExxonMobil’s Guyana and Permian Assets Power Its Upstream Business?
• Neutral Sentiment: A Wood contract for ExxonMobil’s Papua New Guinea LNG project supports long-term project development but also highlights continued capital and execution requirements.
• Negative Sentiment: A power outage shut ExxonMobil’s 264,000-barrel-per-day Joliet refinery in Illinois. Although tight fuel supplies may support refining margins and gasoline prices, the outage risks lost production, repair costs and reduced near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: ExxonMobil reported more than 54,000 pounds of unauthorized air pollution at its Baytown refinery, adding potential regulatory, legal and reputational risks. ExxonMobil Releases Unauthorized Air Pollution at Baytown Refinery

Analyst Ratings Changes

XOM has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ExxonMobil in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ExxonMobil from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. DZ Bank cut shares of ExxonMobil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on ExxonMobil from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded ExxonMobil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ExxonMobil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.45.

ExxonMobil Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $676.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.18.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.04). ExxonMobil had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $114.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.02%.

Institutional Trading of ExxonMobil

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of ExxonMobil during the 4th quarter worth about $7,625,063,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in ExxonMobil by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,605,353 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,608,488,000 after buying an additional 531,362 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ExxonMobil by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 31,497,852 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,790,452,000 after acquiring an additional 303,359 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in ExxonMobil by 5.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 28,364,314 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,812,790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540,902 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 5.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 24,511,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,158,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

About ExxonMobil

Exxon Mobil Corporation, doing business as ExxonMobil, is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations support oil and natural gas production in multiple regions worldwide, while its downstream businesses refine crude oil into fuels and other petroleum products for commercial, industrial and consumer markets.

Through its product solutions businesses, ExxonMobil manufactures and markets lubricants, specialty fluids, petroleum-derived products and chemical products, including commodity and performance chemicals used in packaging, automotive components, construction materials and other industrial applications.