5 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Mario Gabelli

4. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM)

Gabelli’s Stake Value: $3,236,000
Percentage of Mario Gabelli’s 13F Portfolio: 0.02%
Dividend Yield: 5.67%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 65

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is an established brand in oil and natural gas production. It is one of the beneficiaries of a $2.4 billion grant offered to an oil consortium thanks to its involvement in one of the world’s largest carbon capture projects. The grant will provide the necessary funds needed to complete the project by 2024.

Exxon recently raised its production outlook for its Stabroek block deepwater project from 750K bbl/day to 800K bbl/day by 2025. It also expects the Yellowtail project in Guyana to produce roughly 250K bbl per day with at least 20 years of field life. Recently, Iraq’s government asked Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) to buy 32.7% stake in the former’s biggest oilfields, West Qurna 1.

In May, the company was upgraded to “Buy” from “Hold” at DZ Bank. The firm increased the price target to $67 from $58. In April, Raymond James upgraded the stock to “Market Perform” from “Underperform.”

Harding Loevner, in its Q1 2021 investor letter, mentioned Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM). Here is what the fund said:

“We felt that our remaining energy holding, ExxonMobil, with its stronger balance sheet, was in a better position to ride out the cyclical slump in oil demand and even perhaps take advantage of it by investing counter-cyclically. While ExxonMobil does plan to increase capital expenditure, we’ve been disappointed in its regrettable failure to address ongoing emission trends, which reflects poorly on management’s foresight. As a result, we sold our ExxonMobil holdings.”