Exxon Mobil (XOM) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

In the latest trading session, Exxon Mobil (XOM) closed at $86.90, marking a +1.98% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 3.06%. At the same time, the Dow added 2.68%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.08%.

Coming into today, shares of the oil and natural gas company had lost 11.83% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector lost 12.66%, while the S&P 500 lost 4.31%.

Exxon Mobil will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Exxon Mobil to post earnings of $2.85 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 159.09%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $92.09 billion, up 35.94% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $10.26 per share and revenue of $371.26 billion. These totals would mark changes of +90.71% and +29.97%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Exxon Mobil. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.87% higher within the past month. Exxon Mobil is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Exxon Mobil's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 8.31. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 4.86.

Also, we should mention that XOM has a PEG ratio of 0.35. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.53 as of yesterday's close.

The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 90, putting it in the top 36% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

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