5 Blue Chip Stocks with Dividends

3. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71

Dividend Yield (as of March 21): 4.33%

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is an oil and natural gas company based in Texas, United States. Founded in 1870, the firm has increased its dividend payment to shareholders for 38 consecutive years, and offers a yield of 4.33% as of March 21.

BMO Capital analyst Phillip Jungwirth kept a ‘Market Perform’ rating on Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shares in March and increased the price target to $86 from $73. The analyst sees the company well-positioned to drive further operating cost and capital efficiency gains and notes that its ‘industry-leading pipeline of projects will enable strong earnings and cash flow growth.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) posted an EPS of $2.05 in Q4 2021, which was above consensus estimates by $0.11. Quarterly revenue at the end of December stood at $84.97 billion, surpassing analysts’ estimates by $6.24 billion and showing an increase of 82.56% year-on-year.

Hedge fund sentiment was up on Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) stock in the fourth quarter, were 71 hedge funds reported bullish bets on the company shares. This is in contrast to 64 hedge funds with stakes in Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in the third quarter. GQG Partners was the leading shareholder in the energy firm over the fourth quarter, with 32.4 million shares worth $1.98 billion, representing a 22% increase in holding over Q3 2021.

Investment firm Saturna Capital talked about Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in its Q4 2021 investor letter. Here’s what the hedge fund said:

“Few companies maintain their position at the top for more than a decade or two. One that did was Exxon, which appeared decennially from 1980 through 2010. In 2019 it was ranked 10th, but as of writing has dropped to 39th place.”