5 Dividend Stocks Better Than Cryptocurrencies

2. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)

Dividend Yield as of March 24: 4.21%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates as a producer and supplier of crude oil, natural gas, petroleum products, and petrochemicals. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) delivers a dividend yield of 4.21%.

On January 26, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, in line with previous. The dividend was distributed among shareholders on March 10. This is the 39th year of dividend increases for Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shareholders, and the oil crisis makes it a hot investment in the current environment for income investors. 

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) announced on March 24 a pilot program that will utilize natural gas from North Dakota oil wells to power cryptocurrency mining activities. The company also entered an agreement with Crusoe Energy Systems to access gas from a location in the Bakken shale basin to supply power for generators used to mine Bitcoin on site. This program might be expanded to four countries by Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). 

Barclays analyst Jeanine Wai lifted the price target on Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) on March 9 to $98 from $91 and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst updated her model to reflect the current gas prices and account for Permian production/capex assumptions. 

Elite hedge funds were exceedingly bullish on Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). In Q4 2021, 71 funds were long Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), up from 64 funds in the previous quarter. GQG Partners is the biggest shareholder of the company, with 32.3 million shares worth close to $2 billion. 

Here is what First Eagle Investment Management has to say about 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.”