Does Exxon Mobil Support A Move To All-Time Highs?

With shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) trading around $93, is XOM an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Exxon Mobil is a manufacturer and marketer of commodity petrochemicals, including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, and a range of specialty products. The company has a number of divisions and affiliates with names that include ExxonMobil, Exxon, Esso or Mobil that operate or market products in the United States and other countries of the world. Exxon Mobil's principal business is energy, involving exploration for and production of crude oil and natural gas; manufacture of petroleum products; and transportation and sale of crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products. Energy is essential to global growth and day-to-day operations of companies and consumers worldwide. So long as crude oil is a main source of energy, a bellwether like Exxon Mobil will continue to see rising profits well into the future.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

Exxon Mobil stock has seen a consistent uptrend extending back to the Financial Crisis. The stock is now bumping up against long-term resistance where it may pause for a breather. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Exxon Mobil is trading above its rising key averages which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Exxon Mobil options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Exxon Mobil Options	16.20%	3%	1%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very minimal amount of call and put options contracts, as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
August Options	Flat	Average
September Options	Flat	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very minimal amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Exxon Mobil’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Exxon Mobil look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	6.00%	11.33%	-1.88%	56.42%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	-12.29%	-5.29%	-7.68%	1.50%
Earnings Reaction	-1.52%	0.07%	0.47%	1.50%

Exxon Mobil has seen mixed earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have mostly been happy with Exxon Mobil’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Exxon Mobil stock done relative to its peers, BP (NYSE:BP), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDSA), and sector?

	Exxon Mobil	BP	Chevron	Royal Dutch Shell	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	7.51%	1.56%	14.29%	-2.89%	5.95%

Exxon Mobil has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Exxon Mobil is a provider of essential commodity products and services that people and companies around the world utilize on a daily basis. The stock has been steadily trending higher over the last few years but is now trading near a long-term resistance level where it may take a break for a bit. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been mixed which has produced happy investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Exxon Mobil has been a year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what Exxon Mobil does this coming quarter.