2 Exxon Mobil Analysts On Oil Giant's Q4 Earnings

Exxon Mobil Corp XOM reported fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday that came in ahead of the consensus estimate, accompanied by strong cash flows.

BofA Securities On Exxon Mobil

Analyst Doug Leggate maintained a Buy rating for the stock with a $100 price target of $100.

“It seems hard not to be surprised at the change in sentiment towards ExxonMobil that has accompanied the rebound in free cash flow,” Leggate said in the note.

Capital flexibility has “differentiated management’s ability to navigate the downturn, with line of sight on free cash flow intact,” he said. 

“Looking ahead to its March 2nd (virtual) analyst day, we believe one issue stands out from 4Q21 earnings: a break even oil price we believe will exit 2027 $10 below the $41 level defined as covering capex and dividends in 2021 – and line of sight to buy back 30% of its stock over its plan period.”

Credit Suisse On Exxon Mobil

Analyst Manav Gupta maintained an Neutral rating for the stock with an unchanged $85 price target. 

Backed by strong underlying cash from operations, asset sale proceeds and working capital tailwind, Exxon Mobil was able to lower its debut by around $10.8 billion in the fourth quarter, Gupta said in the note.

“XOM paid down all the debt taken during 2020, balance sheet is in good position with debt-to-capital now back at ~21%,” he added.

The company has started its planned buyback of $10 billion and expects the program to be completed in the next 12 to 24 months, Gupta mentioned. He raised the earnings estimates for 2022 from $6.52 to $6.71 to reflect “higher commodity prices driving upstream earnings.”