We recently published a list of 10 Best Energy Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) stands against other best energy dividend stocks to buy right now.

The energy sector’s presence within the broader US stock market has fluctuated over time. In the 1970s, it accounted for around 15% of the market, whereas today, it represents just 3.2% of the broader index, as reported by U.S. Bancorp Investments. However, energy consumption has increased since the 1970s, and its significance has not diminished. According to analysts, from an economic standpoint, energy stocks hold a more substantial role in the broader market than their current index weighting suggests.

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Towards the end of 2024, energy sector stocks saw considerable fluctuations, rising by over 6% in November before declining nearly 10% in December. By the close of the year, the broader market’s energy sector, which had been up nearly 20% at its highest point, finished 2024 with a return of just 5.72%. This performance fell well behind the wider market. Rob Haworth, senior investment strategy director with U.S. Bank Asset Management, made the following comment about the performance of energy stocks:

“As 2024 came to a close, markets responded to the environment for energy prices. In part, it reflects concern that Oil Petroleum Exporting Countries+ (OPEC+) may soon boost production, which would add to an already solid supply situation. The oil market is one that remains well supplied but isn’t well demanded. Although the U.S. economy is strong, other major oil users like China and Europe are experiencing economic challenges. As a result, global oil demand is lagging.”

Although energy stocks fell short of investor expectations, global investment in the low-carbon energy transition grew by 11% in 2024, reaching a record $2.1 trillion, according to BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) Energy Transition Investment Trends 2025 report. This growth was largely driven by increased investment in electrified transportation, renewable energy, power grids, and energy storage, all of which hit new highs last year. However, while total investment in energy transition technologies set a new record, its growth rate was slower than in the previous three years, when annual increases ranged from 24% to 29%.

BNEF’s report also highlighted a clear divide between investment in well-established and emerging clean energy sectors. Proven technologies with scalable business models—such as renewables, energy storage, electric vehicles, and power grids—accounted for the bulk of 2024’s investment, totaling $1.93 trillion, a 14.7% increase. This growth persisted despite challenges from policy changes, higher interest rates, and an expected slowdown in consumer demand.

Even as oil prices decline, an increasing number of fossil fuel companies are allocating a larger share of their profits to shareholders, indicating a shift in focus away from reinvesting in oilfield development. Some major oil firms have even taken on debt to maintain shareholder payouts. According to Bloomberg, four of the world’s five oil supermajors borrowed a combined $15 billion between July and September 2024 to fund share buybacks, underscoring their commitment to rewarding investors. In addition, companies in the energy sector distributed over $49 billion in dividends during the third quarter of 2024, up from $32.2 billion three years ago, as reported by Janus Henderson.

Our Methodology

For this list, we first scanned Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds, as of the third quarter of 2024. Our focus was on selecting energy companies across various sectors within the energy industry, including exploration and production, utilities, renewable energy, and oil refining and marketing. From this pool of companies, we identified 10 companies that prioritize distributing dividends to their shareholders and ranked them in ascending order of the number of hedge funds having stakes in them at the end of Q3 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86

An American oil and gas company, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, and distribution of petroleum products. The company continues to be a dominant force in the global fossil fuel industry while also increasing its focus on low-carbon energy. As part of its 2030 strategy, the company plans to invest up to $30 billion in low-emission projects between 2025 and 2030. In addition, it has secured the largest offshore carbon dioxide storage site in the U.S. through a partnership with the Texas General Land Office. The company is also advancing the development of the world’s largest low-carbon hydrogen production facility, expected to have a capacity of up to 1 billion cubic feet of hydrogen per day.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) reported revenue of $83.4 billion, a 1.1% decline from the same period the previous year. Since 2019, the company has achieved $12.1 billion in Structural Cost Savings, outpacing its competitors and more than offsetting inflation and growth. Its return on capital employed for the year was the best in the industry at 12.7%, with a five-year average of 10.8%.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s cash position in FY24 remained strong, generating $55 billion in free cash flow, its third-best year in the past decade. The company’s free cash flow for the year totaled $36.2 billion. During the year, it returned $16.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and plans to extend its annual $20 billion share repurchase program through 2026. It currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.99 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.64%, as of February 8. It is one of the best dividend stocks on our list as the company has raised its payouts for 42 consecutive years.

Insider Monkey’s database of Q3 2024 indicated that 86 hedge funds owned stakes in Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), compared with 92 a quarter earlier. These stakes have a total value of nearly $7 billion. First Eagle Investment Management was one of the company’s leading stakeholders.

Overall, XOM ranks 1st on our list of best energy dividend stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential for XOM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. 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.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap

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