Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $165.90 and last traded at $166.2540, with a volume of 5155202 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.13.

Key Exxon Mobil News

Here are the key news stories impacting Exxon Mobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Middle East conflict seen as earnings upside — analysts and commentators argue Iran-linked strikes are tightening markets and could lift Exxon’s realized prices and margins, giving the company earnings tailwinds. Exxon Mobil: Iran War Creates Earnings Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Guyana project momentum — Exxon affiliate awarded FEED work and is adding FPSOs in Guyana, supporting production growth and low‑cost barrels that boost long‑term cash flow. This is a direct growth driver for volumes. SBM Offshore awarded FEED contracts for the Longtail project in Guyana
• Positive Sentiment: Ongoing FPSO additions in Guyana — coverage highlights continued capital deployment there and near-term output increases, reinforcing the company’s low‑cost production profile. ExxonMobil Advances Guyana Growth With Continued FPSO Additions
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — UBS reiterated a Buy and set a $171 target, citing diversified global gas exposure and rising European TTF prices that help offset regional outages; other outlets note raised targets and favorable analyst commentary. Analyst backing can sustain buying pressure. Exxon Mobil: Qatar LNG Disruption Manageable…
• Positive Sentiment: Price-target lift — at least one outlet reported a higher target ($158), signaling more bullish valuation assumptions from some analysts. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Price Target Raised to $158.00
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest and buy arguments — coverage (The Motley Fool, 247WallSt) highlights XOM’s low‑cost assets (Guyana, Permian) and positioning to benefit from higher crude, helping explain strong demand among retail and institutional buyers. ExxonMobil Stock Hits an All-Time High. Is It Still a Good Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Alaska expansion being weighed — Exxon is evaluating Alaska options against other priorities and valuation considerations; this signals potential upside but also higher capex and project timing uncertainty. Exxon Mobil Weighs Alaska Expansion Against Qatar Damage And Valuation Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and comparisons — several pieces contrast XOM with peers (e.g., Archrock) and discuss trending interest; useful for sentiment but not immediately catalytic. Archrock vs. Exxon Mobil: Which Energy Stock is the Stronger Bet?
• Negative Sentiment: Qatar strike revenue hit — reports estimate up to ~$5B in near‑term revenue impact from damage at Qatar LNG facilities where Exxon has exposure; that is a direct earnings headwind if outages persist. Exxon Mobil Faces $5B Revenue Hit after Iran Strikes Qatar

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $118.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.89.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 3.3%

The stock has a market cap of $693.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $146.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.67.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.08. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 8.68%.The business had revenue of $80.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 1,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.50, for a total transaction of $167,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,662,782. This trade represents a 5.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,460 shares of company stock worth $1,687,854. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter valued at about $462,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,727,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,371,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,923,940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $231,527,000 after buying an additional 43,460 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 34,998 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,212,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.