Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Exxon Mobil Call Options (NYSE:XOM)

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 130,259 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 61% compared to the average daily volume of 80,737 call options.

Exxon Mobil Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE XOM opened at $106.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.29. Exxon Mobil has a 12-month low of $100.42 and a 12-month high of $126.34. The company has a market capitalization of $469.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.91.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 14.73%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 151,863,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,801,457,000 after buying an additional 395,218 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,194,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,777,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,064 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 16.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,936,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415,012 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,160,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,652,589,000 after purchasing an additional 146,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 29,197,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,422,538,000 after buying an additional 949,875 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on XOM. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.30.

About Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas.