5 Best Crude Oil Stocks to Buy Today

2. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68

Price as of November 4, 2021: $64.41

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is the largest publicly traded energy company in the world. The Irving, Texas-based company is considered as the biggest direct offspring of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil and came into formation following the merger of Exxon and Mobil in November 1999. Being one of the largest energy companies in the world gives Exxon Mobil an edge to reap the full benefit of rising crude oil prices.

The corporation reported the highest quarterly profits in years during the third quarter. This was due to rising demand, improving crude oil and natural gas prices, and reduction in costs. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) reported an adjusted EPS of $1.58 during the three-month period, which outperformed the analysts’ estimate by 2 cents. However, the company’s revenue of $73.79 billion was not able to outperform the consensus estimate of $76.34 billion. The cash flow from operations (CFO) was reported to be $12.1 billion.

The outlook seems bright as the company anticipates the profitability to improve. This is evident by the fact that Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) announced the start of a share repurchase program of $10 billion from 2022. The buyback will be done for one to two years from commencement. Meanwhile, Devin McDermott at Morgan Stanley anticipates the company to ‘catch up trade’ as it has lagged in terms of stock price appreciation with other US E&P companies. On October 10, the analyst noted that Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) stock should trade at a premium and issued an Overweight rating with a target price of $84.

Investment management firm First Eagle Investment Management shared its stance on Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in its Q2 2021 investor letter:

“Leading contributors in the First Eagle Global Fund this quarter included Exxon Mobil Corporation. The continued recovery in oil prices as economies reopen helped fuel another strong performance across the energy complex, including shares of Exxon Mobil. Exxon Mobil recently lost a proxy fight with an activist investor that took three of the company’s 12 board seats. While the press was focused on the investor’s concerns over Exxon Mobil’s long term energy transformation strategy, other factors fundamental to shareholder returns—like capital discipline and balance sheet management—were also at play.”