Exxon Mobil Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:XOM)

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 130,259 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 61% compared to the average volume of 80,737 call options.

Exxon Mobil Trading Down 2.5 %

XOM opened at $106.82 on Friday. Exxon Mobil has a 12-month low of $100.42 and a 12-month high of $126.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $469.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $110.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.29.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its earnings results 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 9.61% and a return on equity of 14.73%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XOM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Exxon Mobil from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 84,439 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,083,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,727 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 60,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,483,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 12,761 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allied Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 108,444 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.