Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)’s stock price shot up 1.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $110.65 and last traded at $110.64. 3,017,489 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 14,937,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on XOM shares. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 3.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.73. The company has a market capitalization of $486.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.