If You Invested $1,000 In Exxon Mobil Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

Investors who have owned stocks in the last year have generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) total return over the last 12 months is 33.2%. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.

Exxon’s Big Run: One company that has been a great investment in the last year has been oil major Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM).

Like many other companies, the COVID-19 pandemic crushed Exxon’s business in 2020. In 2019, Exxon reported $3.36 in adjusted EPS on $255.5 billion in revenue. In 2020, EPS swung to a $5.25 loss and revenue dropped to $179.7 billion.

In fact, in WTI crude oil prices briefly dropped below $0 during the worst of the pandemic sell-off as demand plummeted and oil buyers ran out of storage space.

At the beginning of 2020, Exxon shares were trading at $70.24. By the beginning of March, the stock was down to $52.59 as news of the coronavirus spreading in China prompting concerns about a U.S. pandemic.

When the S&P 500 hit its pandemic bottom on March 23, Exxon shares traded down to $30.11. Unfortunately, while the S&P 500 bounced from there, the worst was yet to come for the oil market.

On April 20, WTI crude oil futures contracts fell below $0 per barrel for the first time in history, settling at an unprecedented price of negative $37.63. The May WTO contracts expired the next day, and prices quickly recovered back into positive territory. The following day, Exxon shares briefly dipped below $40 for the last time in the crisis.

By early June, Exxon shares were back above $50 before the rebound rally ran out of steam. By late October Exxon shares were once again back down to as low as $31.11.

Exxon bounced off those October lows and the stock quickly became red hot.

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Exxon In 2021, Beyond: WTI crude oil prices rallied to post-pandemic highs above $65/bbl in March 2021, and Exxon shares topped $60 that same month. Oil prices made it as high as $76.98/bbl in July, and Exxon reached its post-pandemic high of $64.93 around that same time.

Inflation has weighed on many stocks, but it is good news for stocks in the energy sector like Exxon. In the most recent quarter, Exxon reported 104% revenue growth and 534.2% net income growth compared to a year ago.

Exxon and other oil stocks are also attractive economic reopening plays given economists expect a boom in oil and gas demand in coming quarters.

Exxon shares have pulled back to around $56 and WTI prices have retreated from their highs to $72.51, but recent disruptions from Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas have provided at least temporary support.

Exxon investors who bought one year ago and held on have generated an impressive return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in Exxon stock bought on Sept. 15, 2020, would be worth about $1,597 today, assuming reinvested dividends.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for Exxon in the next 12 months. The average price target among the 25 analysts covering the stock is $65.40, suggesting a 16.5% upside from current levels.

Photo by Raymond Kotewicz on Unsplash