Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price Up 1.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)’s stock price was up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $127.00 to $128.00. The stock traded as high as $118.64 and last traded at $118.04. Approximately 2,433,220 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 16,327,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.69.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on XOM. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $118.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America began coverage on Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baugh & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.2% during the third quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 38,378 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,335,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 5.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 26,218 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,073,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 34.7% during the third quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 13,325 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $425,000. Finally, Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 42,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,966,000 after buying an additional 3,975 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.66 and a 200 day moving average of $116.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $460.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.89.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $93.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.09 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 9.73%. Exxon Mobil’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.57%.

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.