Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $130.21.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on XOM shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Exxon Mobil from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $129.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $157.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $118.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Exxon Mobil stock opened at $119.97 on Tuesday. Exxon Mobil has a 52-week low of $95.77 and a 52-week high of $126.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $119.53 and its 200 day moving average is $116.56. The company has a market cap of $527.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.90.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $90.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.98 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 9.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil will post 7.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. This is a positive change from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XOM. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the second quarter worth $35,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Exxon Mobil by 360.0% in the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the second quarter worth about $39,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 918.9% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 377 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

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.