On Friday, Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) shares advanced slightly after reporting its fiscal third-quarter results. The company announced its most recent quarterly results before markets opened, beating analyst expectations on revenue and earnings. It also announced a share repurchase program that will run for 12-24 months.
Exxon Mobil posted FQ3 non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.58, beating the consensus for Street expectations of $1.52. On the other hand, its GAAP EPS of $1.57 outperformed the estimate of $1.50, while revenue for the quarter jumped 59.7% from the same period in 2020 to $73.79 billion, $1.74 billion ahead of expectations.
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The Irving, TX-based oil and gas company also announced a share repurchase program that will return $10 billion to shareholders beginning in 2022, within a period of 12-24 months.
Is it too late to buy XOM shares?
From an investment perspective, Exxon Mobil shares trade at an exciting forward P/E ratio of 11.78 amid its forecast earnings growth of 16.52% next year. However, with earnings expected to fall by more than 265% this year, it may be too late to bet on Exxon Mobil’s current rally.
Nonetheless, with the share repurchase program of more than $10 billion approaching quickly, XOM shares could maintain the current rally, with the stock expected to receive a technical boost.
Technically, Exxon Mobil shares seem to be trading within an ascending channel formation in the intraday chart. As a result, the stock has rallied closer to the overbought conditions of the 14-day RSI.
However, with shares yet to retest the trendline resistance after a recent rebound, the bull-run could continue to the foreseeable future.
Therefore, investors could target extended gains at about $67.77, or higher at $71.84, while $60.51 and $56.52, are crucial support zones.
It may not be too late to buy
In summary, although Exxon Mobil shares are up more than 55% this year and close to 100% over the last 12 months, the stock still trades at exciting valuation multiples.
Moreover, the current bull run seems to have some room left to run before finding the trendline resistance.
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