Exxon will buyback up to $50 billion in stock through 2024
A little more than a month after reporting record profits, Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) announced today that it will expand its share repurchase program to $50 billion through 2024, including $15 billion in 2022. The oil giant also announced plans to increase lower-emission efforts by 15%, keep capital expenditures flat through 2027, and double "potential" earnings and cash flow, all by 2027.
Exxon Mobil stock is up 2.1% to trade at $105.86. Despite the sector slump, XOM is outperforming the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE), boasting a 69.4% year-to-date lead versus XLE's 53.4% gain in the same time period. The shares have pulled back from their Nov. 8 peak at $114.66, but the dip was saved by their 80-day moving average.
Despite the impressive technical performance, puts remain popular amongst options traders. This is per the equity's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.62 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which stands higher than 100% of readings from the past year. Echoing this, XOM's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.24 ranks in the elevated 96th percentile of annual readings.
The good news for options traders is that XOM's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 73 out of 100 indicates the security has exceeded option traders' volatility expectations during the past year.