Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price Up 2.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) rose 2.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $131.72 and last traded at $130.1190. Approximately 27,455,433 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 35% from the average daily volume of 20,373,943 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.54.

Exxon Mobil News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Exxon Mobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market momentum tied to CEO comments — coverage notes that CEO Darren Woods’ blunt assessment of Venezuela may have reassured investors about risk management, helping lift XOM sentiment. Exxon Mobil’s stock hits a new high. Its CEO’s call on Venezuela may be helping.
• Positive Sentiment: Refinery readied for Venezuelan crude — sources say the Baton Rouge refinery is preparing to run Venezuelan oil, which could support refinery margins and throughput if imports proceed. This is a tangible operational benefit. Exxon Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery preparing to run Venezuelan oil, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Investor endorsement on TV — prominent money managers mentioned XOM as a buy on CNBC, which can lift retail/short-term flows and visibility. Delta Air, Exxon Mobil, TKO Group And A Financial Stock On CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Positive Sentiment: Company pursuing Venezuela engagement — Reuters reports Exxon remains interested in a Venezuela visit and assessment team, signaling intent to capture potential upstream opportunities if geopolitics allow. Exxon Mobil still interested in Venezuela visit despite Trump rebuke
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings date set — ExxonMobil will report Q4 2025 results on Jan. 30; this scheduled event is a short-term catalyst/risk for shares depending on commodity-driven results. ExxonMobil to Release Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Asset-sale paused — Shell and Exxon halted a planned sale of Southern North Sea gas assets to Viaro Energy; this removes a near-term deal but leaves strategic options open. Shell and Exxon halt UK gas asset sale to Viaro Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Political risk from the White House — President Trump publicly threatened to block Exxon from Venezuelan opportunities after the CEO called Venezuela “uninvestable,” introducing regulatory and reputational risk. Trump Threatens To Block ExxonMobil From Venezuela Investments
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/earnings pressure — commentary and screens note expectations for lower Q4 earnings due to softer crude prices, which could cap upside if oil weakens further. Exxon Mobil (XOM) Forecasts Lower Q4 Earnings Due to Decline in Crude Prices
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/political headlines carry downside — press analysis warns that Exxon’s “truth-telling” on Venezuela risks friction with the administration, a factor investors must price into political/regulatory risk. Exxon’s Truth-Telling on Venezuela Shows Risk of Crossing Trump

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XOM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.25.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.17. The stock has a market cap of $548.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 0.37.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $83.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $83.09 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 8.99%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is 59.88%.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $351,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 28,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,349,758.96. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XOM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,058,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,468,147,000 after buying an additional 1,111,231 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,307,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,345,132,000 after acquiring an additional 342,967 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,163,719,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,598,313 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,023,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,026,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,963,934,000 after purchasing an additional 445,283 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Company Profile

Exxon Mobil 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.