ExxonMobil Corp (NYSE:XOM)

LegendPhoenix (55.31) Submitted: 12/25/2011 12:22:37 PM : Start Price: $79.22 XOM Score: -2.20

My latest intention is to find a company for a monthly direct stock purchase program with dividend reinvestment. My target: a company that reliably pays a dividend, grows slowly but surely and will still be around when I'm ready to retire.

Before I started investing , I used to imagine what sort of companies I'd buy. I'd dream about investing in a tiny company who quickly grows unbelievably large, making me incredibly wealthy in no time. In those days I had no idea about how to evaluate stocks and my belief was that companies who were on top of their industry or were super large only had one direction they could go: down, which made them unwise investments. The energy sector seemed like an industry that had longevity, but I would consider only smaller oil and gas companies and avoid the giants.

Exxon was split off from John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company back in 1911 by the US Supreme Court through an antitrust case. The new successor company initially called them self "Esso," but the government thought that that was too close to the initials of their parent so they changed the name to Exxon (you can find "Esso" stations overseas). Exxon merged with Mobil in 1999. They currently produce the most natural gas worldwide and they are the largest publicly traded company in the world with a market cap of over $400B. When I was young and reckless I though investing in this type of behemoth was like betting on a dinosaur to live through the ice age. As the world's thirst for oil continues and the potential for natural gas grows, I am changing my tune for ExxonMobil.

Lately there has been a lot of exciting news about oil and gas companies spinning off their pipelines, e&p operations and refining capabilities; yet ExxonMobil quietly lumbers along, performing all the tasks to get oil from the well to the pump.