Madison Investments, an investment advisor, released its “Madison Dividend Income Fund” first-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the fund (Class Y) returned +3.7% compared to +10.6%, +9.0%, and +7.8% for the S&P 500, Russell 1000 Value, and Lipper Equity Income peer group returns, respectively. One important factor is that in March, dividend stocks did better than the S&P 500. The S&P 500 gained +3.2%, while the Dow Jones Select Dividend Index gained +6.6%. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Madison Dividend Income Fund featured stocks like Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Headquartered in Spring, Texas, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. On April 17, 2024, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) stock closed at $118.63 per share. One-month return of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was 4.53%, and its shares gained 2.59% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has a market capitalization of $469.568 billion.
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)
A refinery, the sun illuminating its engineering complexity.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was held by 85 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 79 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We previously discussed Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in another article, where we shared the list of best dividend stocks of all time. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
