Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $141.00 to $138.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas company's stock.

XOM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC reduced their target price on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.05.

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Exxon Mobil Price Performance

XOM traded down $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $117.66. The stock had a trading volume of 10,220,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,706,266. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.73 and a 200-day moving average of $113.71. Exxon Mobil has a fifty-two week low of $103.67 and a fifty-two week high of $126.34. The company has a market capitalization of $510.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of Exxon Mobil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,966,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter worth about $948,000. Prostatis Group LLC increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 14,767 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. M1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $630,000. Finally, Northeast Planning Associates INC. NH purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $302,000. 61.80% of the stock is currently 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.