ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Falls 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s stock price dropped 1.3% on Thursday. The company traded as low as $173.60 and last traded at $174.7020. 11,195,117 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 17,984,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.01.

Key ExxonMobil News

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $185 and upgraded XOM to “overweight,” citing an estimated 6.1% upside from recent levels. The move adds institutional support ahead of earnings. Morgan Stanley ExxonMobil price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Exxon’s third-quarter outlook remains favorable, with elevated crude prices, strong refining conditions, Permian growth, additional Guyana capacity and LNG expansion potentially supporting another earnings beat and stronger free cash flow. Exxon Q3 preview
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Exxon to Rank #2, or “Buy,” reflecting improving expectations for the company’s earnings prospects. Erste Group Bank also increased its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts. Zacks Exxon rating upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Exxon’s integrated business and project pipeline support dividend resilience. Analysts highlighted the company’s ability to generate cash beyond upstream oil production, while Trinidad could provide another long-term growth opportunity after Guyana. Exxon Trinidad growth article
• Neutral Sentiment: Guyana’s shift beyond cost recovery may reduce reported entitlement volumes but could improve margins and free cash flow, making the accounting and production impact important to upcoming results.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is limiting enthusiasm. One analysis argues XOM’s premium normalized P/E leaves insufficient upside after its strong rally, while other coverage questions whether current earnings can justify a multiple near that of the broader market. ExxonMobil valuation article
• Negative Sentiment: The EIA’s projection for oil near $79 per barrel by 2027 raises downside concerns for upstream earnings, even though Exxon’s dividend is viewed as sustainable in that scenario. Exxon dividend and oil price article
• Negative Sentiment: Chemicals remain a risk: earnings improved sharply, but volumes declined and margins remain below historical levels, leaving profitability vulnerable if North American feedstock advantages narrow.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of ExxonMobil from $184.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. DZ Bank lowered shares of ExxonMobil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $168.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on ExxonMobil from $182.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.13.

ExxonMobil Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $162.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $724.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $114.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.94 billion. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 13.14%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts expect that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 12.52 earnings per share for the current year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ExxonMobil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. jvl associates llc grew its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 2.6% during the third quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 2,862 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ExxonMobil by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC now owns 2,621 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Baring Financial LLC boosted its stake in ExxonMobil by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Baring Financial LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ExxonMobil by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,668 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 9,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ExxonMobil Company Profile

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.