Any oil stock, whether it produces, refines, or even sells oil, will inherently have a certain number of environmental issues to deal with. How it addresses these points, however, is what distinguishes a company that can keep running from a company too busy fending off environmentalist challenges to function. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) recently had documents come to light showing the tightrope it walked in its public and private dealings, but despite some deceptive practices, it still saw shares up slightly in Thursday afternoon’s trading session.
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Documents from 2006, recently brought to light by The Wall Street Journal, reveal that Exxon put on quite the ecologically aware face in public, insisting that the risk of “serious impact on the environment” made global action a necessity. However, as the recently discovered documents revealed, behind the scenes, Exxon eagerly looked for solutions to reduce concerns about temperature increase, as well as how to either confuse or otherwise hush up reports that might have hurt its oil business.
Yet, even as this emerges, so too do several reasons to buy in on Exxon. Some were disappointed by Exxon’s second-quarter earnings, but others suggest that the results really only looked bad due to the elevated price of crude oil back in 2022. Others point to rising crude costs from the OPEC+ production cuts. Meanwhile, there’s also Exxon’s continued expansion into new technologies that actually do have positive environmental benefits to consider.
Analysts, meanwhile, are evenly split on Exxon Mobil’s outcome. With eight Buy ratings and eight Holds, Exxon Mobil stock is considered a Moderate Buy. Further, with an average price target of $123, Exxon Mobil stock comes with a scant 3.8% upside potential.
