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

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 224,252 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 178% compared to the typical daily volume of 80,538 call options.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $119.35. 19,045,300 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,335,525. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Exxon Mobil has a 12-month low of $95.77 and a 12-month high of $126.34.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.01. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 14.73%. The company had revenue of $90.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.27 EPS. Exxon Mobil’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil will post 7.95 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is presently 47.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial cut their target price on Exxon Mobil from $121.00 to $117.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.95.

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 360.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 340 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.