Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $131.94 and last traded at $130.7030, with a volume of 1729174 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XOM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.25.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $119.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.72. The stock has a market cap of $553.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.37.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $351,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 28,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,349,758.96. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the second quarter worth approximately $6,163,719,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 150.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,602,601 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $819,560,000 after buying an additional 4,563,707 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 200.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,014,446 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,162,000 after buying an additional 4,015,099 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 10,809.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,095,106 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $333,652,000 after buying an additional 3,066,736 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $4,366,655,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660,910 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company’s 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.