Exxon Mobil "equal weight," target price raised

05/05/08 - Lehman Brothers

NEW YORK, May 5 (newratings.com) - Analyst Paul Y Cheng of Lehman Brothers maintains his "equal weight" rating on Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM), while raising his estimates for the company. The target price has been raised from $92 to $101.

In a research note published on May 2, the analyst mentions that the company’s volumes in 1Q were adversely impacted by the PSC effects. Exxon Mobil’s weak y/y production comps for the quarter were highlighted in stark contrast to the robust results posted by BP and RDS recently, the analyst says. The long-run oil price per barrel estimate (post 2012) has been raised from $70 to $80. The EPS estimates for the current and next year have been raised from $8.20 to $9.00 and from $7.35 to $7.80, respectively.