Exxon Mobil Corporation’s (XOM – Free Report) third-quarter earnings exceeded expectations. The oil and natural gas behemoth’s strong third-quarter results were aided by robust oil and gas prices as well as healthier fuel margins.
Exxon Mobil’s encouraging earnings results had a positive impact on the energy sector and boosted investors’ sentiment. Following the promising development, investing in energy mutual funds with a significant holding in the Irving-based company will be prudent.
Solid Q3 Earnings
The largest publicly traded integrated energy company’s earnings per share of $1.46 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.21. The bottom line also improved from the year-earlier quarter’s 93 cents. Total revenues in the quarter rose to $76,605 million from $61,100 million a year ago, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $72,455 million.
The energy giant returned $3.5 billion to its shareholders through dividends. Capital and exploration spending rose roughly 10% year over year to $6.6 billion. Additionally, investors’ should know that healthy oil prices also backed smaller rival Chevron Corp.’s (CVX – Free Report) third-quarter results.
The energy sector is one of the strong performers in the past five days. It has increased 1.3% during the period, becoming a key sector on the S&P 500.
Buy These 3 Top-Ranked Energy Mutual Funds
Here we have selected three energy mutual funds that have significant exposure to Exxon Mobil. Moreover, these funds carry a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The question here is: why should investors consider mutual funds? Reduced transaction costs and diversification of portfolio without several commission charges that are associated with stock purchases are primarily why one should be parking money in mutual funds.
These funds also have encouraging one-year returns and minimum initial investment within $5000. Also, each of these funds has a low expense ratio.
