ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading Down 1.6% After Analyst Downgrade

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s stock price was down 1.6% on Wednesday after DZ Bank downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. DZ Bank now has a $156.00 price target on the stock. ExxonMobil traded as low as $151.15 and last traded at $151.53. 12,170,145 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 19,472,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.96.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $171.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $128.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America cut ExxonMobil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of ExxonMobil in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on ExxonMobil from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.95.

ExxonMobil News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong profitability and market conditions: ExxonMobil posted its best underlying quarterly profit in four years, benefiting from higher oil prices, record refining margins and robust production. Middle East-related supply disruptions have also supported refining and fuel-market margins. Exxon Posts Its Best Profit in Four Years
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term fundamentals remain supportive: Although second-quarter EPS of $3.52 narrowly missed the $3.56 consensus, revenue exceeded expectations. Analysts continue to point to strong production, higher oil prices and ExxonMobil’s solid balance sheet as supports for its outlook. One analysis estimates XOM may be approximately 9% undervalued. Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights ExxonMobil
• Positive Sentiment: Whiptail project execution: ExxonMobil selected Sercel’s Marlin software suite to coordinate simultaneous offshore operations, including pipe-laying and mooring installation, at its Whiptail development in Guyana. The announcement supports execution of a strategically important growth project. ExxonMobil Selects Sercel Software
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst signals: Freedom Capital upgraded ExxonMobil from “strong sell” to “hold,” while DZ Bank cut its rating from “buy” to “hold” but retained a $156 price target. The conflicting views suggest limited near-term consensus. ExxonMobil Rating Update
• Negative Sentiment: Political risk is rising: President Trump criticized ExxonMobil and Chevron for earning too much from the oil-price surge and urged them to lower gasoline prices. Pressure to reduce consumer fuel costs could raise concerns about pricing constraints, taxes or other government intervention. Trump Pressures Exxon and Chevron

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ExxonMobil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in ExxonMobil by 15.3% during the first quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in ExxonMobil in the first quarter worth approximately $305,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,237 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its position in shares of ExxonMobil by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 21,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of ExxonMobil by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 36,710 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,957,000 after acquiring an additional 5,443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

ExxonMobil Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $628.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $145.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.15.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $114.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.94 billion. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 13.14%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. ExxonMobil’s payout ratio is presently 53.02%.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil 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.