Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading Down 0.4% - Should You Sell?

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $119.66 and last traded at $120.68. Approximately 3,197,074 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 16,336,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Scotiabank raised shares of Exxon Mobil from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $129.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $128.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.95.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $477.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $90.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.98 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 9.61%. The firm's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. This is a positive change from Exxon Mobil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Exxon Mobil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.32%.

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 360.0% in the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 918.9% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 377 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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