ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Climb 2.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• ExxonMobil shares rose 2.5% after Morgan Stanley increased its price target from $177 to $185 and maintained an overweight rating. Despite the upgrade, analysts’ consensus view remains “Hold,” with a $165.13 average price target.
• Stronger refining margins are expected to provide approximately $4.5 billion in third-quarter earnings support, while growth in Guyana and the Permian Basin and ExxonMobil’s strong balance sheet bolster its outlook.
• Potential offsets include weaker upstream earnings from oil-price changes and an estimated $1.3 billion impact from Middle East-related factors; investors will receive more detail when third-quarter results are released on October 30, 2026.

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 2.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $177.00 to $185.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. ExxonMobil traded as high as $179.16 and last traded at $179.0250. Approximately 13,111,095 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 17,959,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.68.

XOM has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ExxonMobil from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ExxonMobil to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $184.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on ExxonMobil from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $165.13.

Key Headlines Impacting ExxonMobil

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Refining provides a major earnings boost: ExxonMobil expects third-quarter Energy Products earnings to benefit by approximately $4.5 billion from stronger refining margins compared with the second quarter. The benefit highlights the value of the company’s integrated model, which can profit from favorable fuel-market conditions even when upstream results weaken. ExxonMobil’s Refining Profits Are Set to Jump $4.5 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and production growth: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $185 from $177 and maintained an overweight rating. Investors are also watching production milestones in Guyana and the Permian Basin, where high-return projects are moving toward free-cash-flow generation. Morgan Stanley Raises Exxon Mobil Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Financial resilience: ExxonMobil’s low debt load and strong balance sheet provide flexibility to sustain operations, pursue investments and return capital to shareholders during periods of oil-price volatility. ExxonMobil’s Strong Balance Sheet Offers Cushion
• Neutral Sentiment: Formal results are approaching: ExxonMobil will release third-quarter 2026 results on October 30, giving investors a more complete view of refining gains, upstream performance, cash flow and guidance. ExxonMobil to Release Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: Upstream and geopolitical pressures remain: Changes in oil prices are expected to reduce upstream earnings, while ExxonMobil is bracing for an estimated $1.3 billion impact linked to Middle East-related factors. These headwinds could limit the overall earnings benefit from refining. ExxonMobil Signals Lower Third-Quarter Earnings

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ExxonMobil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of ExxonMobil by 5.7% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,540,902 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 24,511,156 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,158,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,386 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,367,358 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,089,988,000 after buying an additional 577,181 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 153.3% in the second quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 16,877,523 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,307,497,000 after buying an additional 10,214,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in ExxonMobil by 5.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,376,418 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,099,783,000 after buying an additional 693,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company's stock.

ExxonMobil Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $163.32 and its 200-day moving average is $154.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $742.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.21.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.04). ExxonMobil had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $114.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Analysts predict that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 12.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. ExxonMobil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.02%.

About ExxonMobil

Exxon Mobil Corporation, commonly known as ExxonMobil, is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and sale of crude oil and natural gas. The company also manufactures and markets fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and specialty products used in transportation, industrial and consumer applications.

ExxonMobil operates across the energy value chain through businesses that include upstream oil and natural gas production, refining and fuels marketing, chemical manufacturing, and lower-carbon solutions.

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