Top Wall Street analysts expect Exxon to remain a key beneficiary in this higher oil price environment, and most remain strongly positive about the company’s sharp positive inflection in capital allocation strategy, upstream portfolio, and leverage to a further demand recovery, with Exxon Mobil offering greater downstream/chemicals exposure relative to peers.
Exxon Mobil stock comes with a 4.13% dividend, which will continue to be defended. The $120 BofA Securities target price is well above the $100.97 consensus target and Thursday’s close at $85.21.
Marathon Petroleum
This is another solid way for investors who are more conservative to play the energy sector. Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) operates as an integrated downstream energy company, primarily in the United States.
Its Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent and West Coast regions of the United States. It purchases refined products and ethanol for resale. Its refined products include transportation fuels, such as reformulated and blend-grade gasolines, as well as heavy fuel oil and asphalt.
This segment also manufactures aromatics, propane, propylene and sulfur. It sells refined products to wholesale marketing customers in the United States and internationally, buyers on the spot market and independent entrepreneurs who operate primarily Marathon branded outlets, as well as through long-term fuel supply contracts to direct dealer locations primarily under the ARCO brand.
The Midstream segment transports, stores, distributes and markets crude oil and refined products through refining logistics assets, pipelines, terminals, towboats and barges. It gathers, processes and transports natural gas, and it gathers, transports, fractionates, stores and markets NGLs. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 7,159 brand jobber outlets in 37 states, the District of Columbia and Mexico through independent entrepreneurs.
Shareholders receive a 2.75% dividend. Marathon Petroleum stock’s price target at BofA Securities price target is $135. The consensus target is lower at $119.21, and shares closed nearly 5% lower on Thursday at $84.63.
Shell
This is another European energy giant that offers investors size and strength. Shell PLC (NYSE: SHEL) operates as an energy and petrochemical company in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and elsewhere.
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