We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Stocks to Buy According to Navellier & Associates. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) stands against the other stocks approved by Navellier & Associates.

Founded in 1987 by growth analyst Louis Navellier, Navellier & Associates is an independent firm based in Reno, Nevada. Navellier & Associates specializes in identifying market inefficiencies to find top-growth stocks through a disciplined quantitative and fundamental analysis system. With over 30 years of experience, they offer customized portfolio strategies for individual investors to maximize returns while managing risk. Unlike competitors who mimic indexes, Navellier aims to outperform them, resulting in low correlation with benchmarks and increased diversification.

Louis Navellier is the Founder, Chairman of the Board, Chief Investment Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer of Navellier & Associates, Inc. With decades of experience applying academic techniques to real market scenarios, he advocates for disciplined quantitative analysis to identify stocks that can outperform the market. His approach involves a rigorous three-step process: quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, and optimization of selected securities for portfolio inclusion. This approach has been used by the firm where they employ a highly disciplined, bottom-up stock-selection process for most portfolios. First, they screen market and stock statistics to measure reward (alpha) and risk (standard deviation), selecting stocks in the top percentiles. Next, they further screen the top-ranked stocks for high-profit margins, strong earnings growth, and reasonable price/earnings ratios based on future earnings. Finally, a proprietary optimization model maximizes portfolio alpha while minimizing standard deviation, creating well-diversified portfolios across various sectors and industries.

Since 1980, he has shared his insights through the MPT Review, a stock advisory newsletter. Since 1987, he has actively managed individual portfolios, mutual funds, and institutional portfolios. Known for his charismatic leadership, Louis Navellier has been featured extensively in international media, including CNBC, Bloomberg, The Nightly Business Report, and Wall Street Week. His insights have also been highlighted in Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, Investor’s Business Daily, Money, Smart Money, and The Wall Street Journal. He has been profiled in books such as Kenneth A. Stern’s “Secrets of the Investment All-Stars” and Alan R. Ackerman’s “Investing Under Fire.” Mr. Navellier earned his B.S. in business administration in 1978 and his M.B.A. in finance in 1979 from California State University – Hayward.

Navellier & Associates is a well-known advisory firm with 1,314 clients and manages assets worth $743,578,818, as reported in their Form ADV from March 2024. Their Q1 2024 filing shows they handle $811,568,534 in securities, with the top 10 holdings making up 29.01% of the total.

Our Methodology

This article covers Navellier & Associates’ top 10 stock picks for the first quarter of 2024. We’ve included analyst ratings and key details about these companies, along with the number of hedge funds investing in each. Why focus on hedge fund investments? Our research indicates that copying the top picks of leading hedge funds can result in better-than-market returns. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy, which chooses 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks each quarter, has achieved a 275% return since May 2014, outperforming the benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)

Navellier & Associates’ Stake Value: $19,743,376 

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is one of the largest energy and chemical companies in the world. It was founded in 1999 when Exxon and Mobil, both originally part of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, merged. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) recently completed its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. As part of the deal, Pioneer shareholders received 2.3234 shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) for each Pioneer share they owned. This acquisition significantly expands Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s operations in the Permian Basin, effectively doubling its presence in the region.

In Q1 2024, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) reported earnings of $2.06 per share. Analysts predict that for the full fiscal year 2024, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s earnings per share (EPS) will decrease by 6.84% year-over-year. However, they expect a rebound with a 7.18% increase in EPS for FY 2025, followed by an additional 4.69% increase in FY 2026.

At the end of Q1 2024, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) ranks 5th in Navellier & Associates’ top 10 stock picks, as they held 169,850 shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), valued at $19,743,376. This investment made up 2.43% of their total portfolio, as stated in regulatory filings.

Madison Dividend Income Fund stated the following regarding Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:

“This quarter we are highlighting Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) as a relative yield example in the Energy sector. XOM is a leading integrated oil and natural gas company. It has upstream assets that develop and produce oil and natural gas, along with downstream refining and chemical manufacturing assets. We believe it has attractive low-cost acreage in the Permian basin and has a sizeable growth opportunity in Guyana. Further, we think XOM has a sustainable competitive advantage due to size and scale, and its ability to integrate refining and chemical assets provides a low-cost advantage versus competitors.

Our thesis on XOM is that it will grow production volumes of oil and gas moderately over the next few years, while limiting excessive capital investment that plagued the industry from 2014-2020. Production growth will come from its 2023 acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, which is the largest producer in the Permian basin. XOM plans to double its Permian output by 2027, to 2 million barrels per day. Capital spending will be limited to $20-25 billion per year through 2027, which should allow for significant amounts of cash to be returned to shareholders including a $35 billion share repurchase program and continued dividend increases. Higher oil prices would provide a tailwind to our thesis but are not necessary. We think XOM can grow earnings and cash flow if oil prices remain above $60 per barrel…” (Click here to read the full text)

Overall XOM ranks 5th on our list of the best stocks to buy according to Navellier & Associates. You can visit 10 Best Stocks to Buy According to Navellier & Associates to see the other Navellier & Associates-approved stocks that are on hedge funds’ radar. While we acknowledge the potential of XOM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than XOM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.