ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Up 1.5% After Analyst Upgrade

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shares were up 1.5% during trading on Wednesday after Wolfe Research raised their price target on the stock from $143.00 to $155.00. The stock traded as high as $162.12 and last traded at $161.16. Approximately 12,287,285 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 18,578,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.71.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on ExxonMobil from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on ExxonMobil from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Freedom Capital upgraded ExxonMobil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised ExxonMobil from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ExxonMobil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.26.

Key Stories Impacting ExxonMobil

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil is preparing to drill its first exploration well offshore Greece in decades in early 2027. The project provides a potential long-term avenue for reserve growth, although it is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. ExxonMobil VP Ardill: Drilling of first exploration well offshore Greece in decades in early 2027
• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil Asia Pacific signed a framework agreement to supply crude oil to Vietnam’s Dung Quat Refinery, helping the facility diversify feedstock sources. The agreement could support regional trading and supply volumes, though financial details were not disclosed. Vietnam refinery signs crude oil deal with ExxonMobil Asia Pacific
• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil is set to become operator of the 5.6-million-ton-per-year Papua LNG project as it advances toward a final investment decision. Progress on engineering, contracting and marketing could strengthen Exxon’s long-term LNG growth profile. Could TotalEnergies’ LNG Growth Give It an Edge Over ExxonMobil?
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its XOM price target modestly to $169 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, signaling moderate expected upside but limited conviction. The average reported analyst target is $167.30. ExxonMobil price target raised by Goldman Sachs
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary continues to highlight ExxonMobil’s strong momentum characteristics and cash-generation capacity, including substantial operating cash flow that supports its dividend. These are supportive fundamentals but are unlikely to be fresh trading catalysts. Why Exxon Mobil is a strong momentum stock
• Negative Sentiment: Former shale executive Scott Sheffield accused ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods of betraying him by failing to support him in a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission. The allegations create reputational and governance overhang, although no direct financial impact was reported. Shale tycoon claims Exxon CEO betrayed him

Institutional Trading of ExxonMobil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in XOM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in ExxonMobil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,625,063,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,605,353 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,608,488,000 after purchasing an additional 531,362 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 5.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 28,364,314 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,812,790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540,902 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in ExxonMobil by 5.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 24,511,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,158,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,386 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in ExxonMobil by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,367,358 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,089,988,000 after purchasing an additional 577,181 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ExxonMobil Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $666.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.04). ExxonMobil had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $114.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.02%.

ExxonMobil Company Profile

Exxon Mobil Corporation, doing business as ExxonMobil, is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations support oil and natural gas production in multiple regions worldwide, while its downstream businesses refine crude oil into fuels and other petroleum products for commercial, industrial and consumer markets.

Through its product solutions businesses, ExxonMobil manufactures and markets lubricants, specialty fluids, petroleum-derived products and chemical products, including commodity and performance chemicals used in packaging, automotive components, construction materials and other industrial applications.