Energy

DJIA's Worst Performing Stock in 2017 Is Exxon Mobil

Paul Ausick

Published: March 26, 2017 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 1:37 pm

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) dropped nearly 1% last week, to close down 10% for the year to date and keep its position as the worst performing of the 30 stocks included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. The DJIA has posted a gain of 4.2% so far this year.

WTI crude oil prices dropped by the slightly more (about 1.2%) as analysts and traders continue to question the ability of the production cuts to rebalance the global crude market by the time the cuts are supposed to end in June. WTI closed Friday at $48.14 on the Nymex.

The company announced Friday after markets had closed that it had received notice of an unsolicited mini-tender offer by TRC Capital Corporation to purchase up to 2 million shares (approximately 0.05% of shares outstanding) at a purchase price of $78 per share. Exxon’s stock closed at $81.61 on March 10, 2017, the last business day prior to TRC Capital’s offer.

Exxon also lost a courtroom battle last week when a New York judge ruled that the company must reveal correspondence from its executives related to the impact of climate change on the company’s business. The lawsuit, filed by the attorney general of New York, is seeking evidence related to Exxon’s and other oil companies’ possible misleading of investors with respect to the material risks related to rising temperatures.

The second-worst performing stock among the Dow 30 is the other energy giant, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), which closed Friday at $107.99 per share, down about 8.3% for the year to date.

Exxon’s shares closed at $81.23 on Friday, down about 0.8% for the day in a 52-week range of $80.31 to $95.55. The consensus 12-month price target is $88.23, in a range of $72 to $105 per share.