5 Best Performing ETFs in 2022

2. Direxion Daily Energy Bull 2X Shares (NYSE:ERX)

YTD Share Price Gain as of December 9: 87.79% 

Direxion Daily Energy Bull 2X Shares (NYSE:ERX) seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, or 200% of the inverse of the performance of the Energy Select Sector Index, which is provided by S&P Dow Jones Indices and includes domestic companies from the energy sector. Direxion Daily Energy Bull 2X Shares (NYSE:ERX) was founded in 2008 and offers an expense ratio of 0.94%. 

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is the largest holding of Direxion Daily Energy Bull 2X Shares (NYSE:ERX). On December 8, the energy giant announced that it will expand its stock buyback plan to $50 billion through 2024, including $15 billion in 2022. The company said it expects to “double earnings and cash flow potential” by 2027 compared to 2019, while also delivering approximately $9 billion in structural cost savings by the end of 2023 compared to 2019 levels.

According to Insider Monkey’s Q3 data, 75 hedge funds were long Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), compared to 72 funds in the prior quarter. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners is the largest position holder in the company, with 33.8 million shares worth nearly $3 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.”