Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) shares shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $105.41 and last traded at $104.04. 3,082,126 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 15,941,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on XOM shares. Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $131.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. HSBC decreased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.75.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $447.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.61.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.51%.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. My Legacy Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 7,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Columbia Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 33.5% in the first quarter. Columbia Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 17.9% in the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,661 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,409,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 84.3% during the first quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 8,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,040,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 3.2% in the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 4,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Company Profile

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.