Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on XOM shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Exxon Mobil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $156.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $119.00 to $118.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.00.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $120.12 and a 200-day moving average of $114.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $563.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is currently 59.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 3,000 shares of Exxon Mobil stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $351,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 28,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,349,758.96. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $305,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,237 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 25,481 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 4,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baring Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 14.0% in the second quarter. Baring Financial LLC now owns 5,025 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is currently 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.