ExxonMobil Corporation $XOM Shares Sold by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Key Points

• Nixon Peabody Trust Co. cut its ExxonMobil stake by 28.7% in the first quarter, selling 13,951 shares and ending with 34,642 shares valued at about $5.88 million.
• ExxonMobil is benefiting from a favorable commodity backdrop, including higher oil prices that could lift second-quarter upstream earnings by $3.5 billion to $3.9 billion, which supports expectations for a strong profit beat.
• The company also continues to attract Wall Street support: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a target price of $164.70, while Exxon recently beat first-quarter earnings estimates and maintained its quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) by 28.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,642 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 13,951 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.'s holdings in ExxonMobil were worth $5,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ExxonMobil in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ExxonMobil during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 456.1% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 228 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in ExxonMobil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in ExxonMobil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting ExxonMobil

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil signaled that higher oil prices could lift second-quarter upstream earnings by $3.5 billion to $3.9 billion, reinforcing expectations for a strong Q2 profit beat. Exxon Mobil signals higher second-quarter earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Crude prices jumped after U.S. strikes on Iranian targets and the collapse of the cease-fire backdrop, which tends to boost integrated oil producers like ExxonMobil through stronger upstream margins. Oil Prices Jump After U.S. Strikes Kharg Island, Trump Says Cease-Fire Is ‘Over’
• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil and partners will invest $1 billion in Nigeria’s Usan offshore project, expected to add 40,000 barrels per day of production, supporting longer-term output growth. ExxonMobil to invest $1 billion in Nigeria's oilfield, regulator says

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $165.00 price target on shares of ExxonMobil and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays upped their target price on ExxonMobil from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. HSBC boosted their price target on ExxonMobil from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $128.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ExxonMobil currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $164.70.

ExxonMobil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE XOM opened at $140.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $146.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.28. ExxonMobil Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.53 and a 52-week high of $176.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $584.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.17.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $83.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.13 billion. ExxonMobil had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 7.57%.The business's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.64 earnings per share for the current year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. ExxonMobil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.48%.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil 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.

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