Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading Up 1% on Analyst Upgrade

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shares traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Friday after HSBC raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $158.00. HSBC currently has a hold rating on the stock. Exxon Mobil traded as high as $162.44 and last traded at $159.75. 53,802,023 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 144% from the average session volume of 22,031,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.16.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Exxon Mobil from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.75, for a total transaction of $698,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 23,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,864. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,460 shares of company stock worth $1,687,854. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Exxon Mobil

Here are the key news stories impacting Exxon Mobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are revising earnings and targets up across the integrated-oil group after the Middle East supply shock, which supports higher oil-price assumptions and makes XOM more attractive to income/value investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC raised Exxon’s price target (reported coverage) — a signal that some institutional analysts see limited downside versus current levels and are moving to higher targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho lifted XOM’s price target to $162 and raised its oil-price outlook, reflecting expectations for stronger 2026 commodity-driven cash flow. That supports valuation upgrades and positive sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector rotation into energy and materials is accelerating as the market re-prices commodity-linked assets — a technical tailwind for XOM as investors shift into energy. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational growth: Exxon is accelerating oil & gas project timelines in Guyana (new floating production facilities nearing deployment), which supports medium-term production growth and value realization. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Trading/marketing strength: Exxon is among firms shipping record U.S. fuel volumes to Australia to fill supply gaps, demonstrating lucrative trading opportunities amid disrupted global flows. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro: the S&P 500 is under pressure as oil spikes past $100–$120/bbl — this drags broader risk assets even as energy names outperform; net effect for XOM is positive for revenues but mixed for market multiples. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate housekeeping: Exxon announced a planned redomiciliation to Texas — a structural/legal change that’s unlikely to move fundamentals near-term but matters for governance/tax positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio move: Exxon sold its stake in North Atlantic Energies, a small ownership shift that is not material to XOM’s consolidated results but removes a minor holding. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Security/damage risk: Iranian strikes damaged LNG facilities at Qatar’s Ras Laffan (Exxon is a JV partner), cutting Qatar’s export capacity by ~17% and creating multi-year repair timelines and near-term revenue losses for partners — a direct operational hit for joint ventures even as it props up energy prices globally. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,625,063,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 150.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,602,601 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $819,560,000 after acquiring an additional 4,563,707 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 200.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,014,446 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,162,000 after acquiring an additional 4,015,099 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 10,809.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,095,106 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $333,652,000 after acquiring an additional 3,066,736 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 7.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,728,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,366,655,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660,910 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $665.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $145.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.08. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 8.68%.The firm had revenue of $80.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Exxon Mobil’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is currently 61.58%.

About Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is an integrated oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, production, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum products and the manufacture and sale of petrochemicals. Its operations span the full energy value chain, including upstream exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas; midstream transportation and storage; and downstream refining, product distribution and retail. The company also produces a broad range of chemical products for industrial and consumer applications.

ExxonMobil markets fuels and lubricants under well-known brands such as Exxon, Mobil and Esso, and its Mobil 1 motor oil is a prominent consumer product.