Energy
Why Analysts Are Changing Tune on Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips
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The three largest U.S. oil and gas companies have now reported fourth-quarter earnings, and the results were about what most observers expected with one mildly positive surprise. Every one reported realized prices per barrel of oil equivalent fell and production rose.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), the world’s largest publicly held oil company, saw profits drop by half year over year in 2015. The company did manage to post a profit in the fourth quarter, something neither Chevron nor ConocoPhillips was able to do. But capital spending was down 19% year over year in 2015 and is forecast to fall another 25% in 2016. But the company is widely believed to be big enough to withstand the low-price shock better than its peers.
Here’s a sample of what analysts had to say after last Tuesday’s earnings:
- Credit Suisse raised its price target from $68 to $73 but kept an Underperform rating.
- Goldman Sachs lowered its price target from $86 to $85 but kept Exxon on its Conviction Buy list.
- Tudor Pickering said that Exxon will turn to acquisitions of some sort in the coming days.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) posted a smaller than expected net loss of $0.31 per share. The company cut its operating expenses and capex by $9 billion in 2015 to $34 billion and expects capital spending to total $25 to $28 billion in 2016. Domestic liquids production rose 8% in 2015. Among the analyst reviews we saw, these two stand out:
- S&P Cut Chevron’s debt rating from AA to AA- and maintained a Stable outlook.
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Neutral rating and $100 price objective.
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