Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price Down 4% on Analyst Downgrade

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)’s stock price dropped 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $131.00 to $129.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Exxon Mobil traded as low as $113.40 and last traded at $113.96. Approximately 6,232,076 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 15,660,658 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.67.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on XOM. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Bernstein Bank increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $141.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of Exxon Mobil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of XOM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth $6,936,737,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,983,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,731,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,694 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1,524.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,445,922 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $585,818,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110,603 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 16.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,936,929,000 after acquiring an additional 4,415,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 46,017,358 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,950,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998,892 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $487.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.87.

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

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.51%.

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.