Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) shares were down 0.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $104.92 and last traded at $105.09. Approximately 2,701,041 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 16,380,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on XOM. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of Exxon Mobil from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $129.00 to $145.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.74.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $464.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $117.21 and its 200 day moving average is $116.13.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $90.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.98 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 14.73%. The business’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 49.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 3.1% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Etfidea LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.3% in the second quarter. Etfidea LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,543 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Exxon Mobil by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.