ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Given New $186.00 Price Target at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein cut its ExxonMobil price target from $193 to $186 but maintained an “outperform” rating; the new target implies 11.68% upside from the share price cited.
• Analyst views overall are more mixed: MarketBeat reports an average “Hold” rating and a $170.54 average price target.
• ExxonMobil beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $4.23 per share versus estimates of $4.12 and revenue of $110.5 billion versus $104.89 billion expected.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $193.00 to $186.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target suggests a potential upside of 11.68% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ExxonMobil from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Freedom Broker increased their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $142.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ExxonMobil from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on ExxonMobil from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ExxonMobil has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.54.

ExxonMobil Price Performance

Shares of ExxonMobil stock opened at $166.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $679.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.88. ExxonMobil has a 12 month low of $114.19 and a 12 month high of $188.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.11. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $110.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $104.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that ExxonMobil will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ExxonMobil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in ExxonMobil by 153.3% in the 2nd quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 16,877,523 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,307,497,000 after purchasing an additional 10,214,420 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in ExxonMobil in the first quarter valued at $766,345,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 valued at $4,812,790,000 after buying an additional 1,540,902 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 63.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,371,424 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $571,996,000 after buying an additional 1,307,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in ExxonMobil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,518,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Recent ExxonMobil Headlines

These are some of the XOM headlines that stood out recently:

• Neutral Sentiment: Exxon is challenging EU carbon-capture rules under an investment treaty and seeking suspension of certain timing requirements. A successful challenge could offer more flexibility, but the dispute adds regulatory uncertainty. Financial Times: ExxonMobil challenges EU carbon-capture rules
• Neutral Sentiment: Exxon said the Middle East will remain an important driver of energy prices. That underscores the potential benefit of stronger oil prices as well as the risk of volatility. The Motley Fool: What Exxon, Chevron and Shell said about oil
• Negative Sentiment: Exxon has previously called Venezuela “uninvestable” after its assets were seized, so renewed activity carries political and investment risks. The current agreement is non-binding and does not establish a firm project commitment. New York Post: Exxon’s preliminary Venezuela deal

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil is an integrated energy and chemical company with operations spanning the oil and natural gas value chain. Its businesses explore for and produce crude oil and natural gas, refine and market fuels, and manufacture chemicals and other specialty products. The company's products include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemical feedstocks and materials used in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications. ExxonMobil also pursues lower-emission solutions, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and lower-emission fuels.

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