Exxon Mobile Corp. (NYSE: XOM) will release its first-quarter financial results Thursday before the markets open. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.82 in earnings per share (EPS) on $53.15 billion in revenue. In the same quarter of the previous year, Exxon posted $2.10 in EPS on $106.77 billion in revenue.

Some investors are thinking that oil has bottomed out and that there will be a changing landscape in the oil patch as a result. Oppenheimer suggests that there will be an increased wave of mergers and acquisitions, among other things. Exxon would be one of the companies looking to benefit the most from this.

24/7 Wall St. has noted that Exxon has been one of the greatest stock buyback outfits in history, and the company has been cited by many sources in recent weeks and months as the most likely acquirer ahead.

Wednesday afternoon, shares of Exxon were relatively flat at $87.67, in a 52-week trading range of $82.68 to $104.76. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $93.50.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings before the markets open Friday. The consensus estimates are $0.79 in EPS on $24.37 billion in revenue. In the first quarter of last year, it had $2.36 in EPS on $53.26 billion in revenue.

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At its analysts’ day presentation in mid-March, Chevron said the company plans to grow net production by 20% by 2017. On the basis of 2.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, that works out to a total of 3.1 million barrels a day. Where that growth is expected to come from is interesting, as is the company’s answer to why grow at all in a time of declining demand.

24/7 Wall St. has not been overly concerned about Chevron’s dividend. We still see it hiking the dividend minimally. Yet, some investors and market pundits have started to wonder which of the oil and gas giants are at risk of cutting their dividends.

What matters here is that Chevron will be taking in an extra $3.6 billion to $3.7 billion from its interest sale in Caltex Australia. Without knowing about its tax rates, possible repatriation exposure and the rest, this should at least on the surface make Chevron’s dividend a bit more secure. Back on March 10, Chevron outlined its strategies, financial priorities and growth outlook.

Shares of Chevron were up 0.6% at $111.75 on Wednesday afternoon. The consensus price target is $114.17, and the 52-week trading range is $98.88 to $135.10.

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