Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $141.00 to $138.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.05.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XOM traded down $0.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $117.82. 6,728,458 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,035,126. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Exxon Mobil has a 1 year low of $103.67 and a 1 year high of $126.34. The company has a market cap of $511.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $110.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.64.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Exxon Mobil will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,918 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Renasant Bank raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 10,369 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Helen Stephens Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Helen Stephens Group LLC now owns 41,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 41.3% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 76,288 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,942,000 after buying an additional 22,296 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.2% in the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 307,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,015,000 after buying an additional 9,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

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.