Low Tax Rate on One-Time Item Contributes to ExxonMobil (XOM) EPS Beat; UBS Raises Price Target to $81

UBS reiterated a Neutral rating on ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), and raised the price target to $81.00 (from $77.00), following the company's 3Q earnings results. 3Q15 EPS fell 46% YoY to $1.01, above consensus of $0.89. A lower than expected tax rate related to a one-time item benefitted EPS by $0.04/share.

Analyst William Featherston commented, "1) reiterated its 2015 capex guidance of $34bn & 2016-17 spending target of <$34bn, as well as expectation for spending to trend below both figures due to cost savings and efficiency gains; 2) made no change to its 2015 production growth guidance of +2% YoY to 4.1 MMBoed (although liquids growth is trending above guidance offset by steeper declines in natgas); 3) repurchased $500MM in shares in 3Q and expects to repurchase another $500MM in 4Q; 4) acquired horizontal development rights in 48,000 acres in Midland Basin, boosting its Midland unconventional position to 135,000 net acres. We made very modest revisions to our estimates."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on ExxonMobil click here. For more ratings news on ExxonMobil click here.

Shares of ExxonMobil closed at $82.74 yesterday.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Deutsche Bank Downgrades L'Oreal SA (OR:FP) (LRLCY) to Sell
• Deutsche Bank Starts Tandem Diabetes Care (TNDM) at Hold
• RBC Capital Starts Centene (CNC) at Sector Perform