5 Best Dividend Aristocrat Stocks To Buy Heading Into Recession

1. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72

Dividend Yield as of September 27: 4.11%

Number of Years of Consecutive Dividend Growth: 39

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), an American multinational energy giant, is one of the top dividend aristocrat stocks to buy heading into recession. 2022 marks the 39th consecutive annual dividend increase by Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). The company’s latest quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share was paid on September 9. The dividend yield on September 27 stood at 4.11%. 

Piper Sandler analyst Ryan Todd on September 12 reaffirmed an Overweight rating on Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) but lowered the price target on the shares to $108 from $109. The analyst remains constructive on the integrated oils group, citing upside to refining estimates through the winter and into an “equally tight” 2023. 

According to Insider Monkey’s Q2 data, 72 hedge funds were long Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), compared to 83 funds in the prior quarter. Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management is a significant position holder in the company, with 20 million shares worth $1.70 billion.  

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, First Eagle Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Integrated oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) performed well in the second quarter as continued high prices for energy products supported the stock. As the largest refiner in the US, the company has benefitted from wide “crack spreads,” or the margin between the cost of crude oil and the petroleum products extracted from it. Exxon continues to invest in refining capacity in the US, which industry wide has been in steady decline since 2019. We are pleased that Exxon has been using its strong cash flows to reduce debt and to return cash to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases.”

You can also take a look at Best Cloud Stocks To Buy and Best Delivery Stocks To Buy.

Follow Insider Monkey on Twitter