Low oil prices have discounted the stock price of this oil giant.
Exxon-Mobil (XOM)
from The Heartland Adviser
At the beginning of the year I chose Exxon Mobil (XOM) as my top stock pick.
The company was my choice in January because Exxon is a Value Line A++ company whose value fell due to the sharp drop in oil prices, based on OPEC’s surprise announcement last fall stating they were going to continue to keep up oil production.
Given Exxon is such a financially strong company, it can survive the turbulent environment of low oil prices.
At the beginning of 2015, I believed the price of oil was going to go up and as you can see by the prices at the gas tank, they did rise. West Texas Intermediate Crude has gone up from a little over $48 a barrel to its current price, $59 per barrel, and I believe it will continue to rise and along with it the price of Exxon stock.
Exxon-Mobil is a great selection given its high dividend, which was still maintained during the oil price decline. The company increased the payout in the second quarter from $.69 a share to $.73 per share.
Exxon is estimated to have a 2015 return on equity of 10.5%.
Russ Kaplan, Heartland Adviser, www.russkaplaninvestments.com, 402-614-1321, June 19, 2015