Exxon Mobil (XOM)

Exxon Mobil (XOM - Analyst Report) remains better positioned, operationally as well as financially, than any other integrated oil company to navigate the current choppy waters. Its capital discipline, cost controls, and operating efficiencies are legendary, to say the least. Exxon stuck to its conservative project selection criteria through the boom years, using very low oil prices to determine hurdle rates.

Exxon generated almost $60 billion in operating cash flows in 2008 (it raised an additional $6 billion through asset sales) and distributed a little over $40 billion to shareholders ($32 billion in buybacks and $8 billion in dividends) and spent over $26 billion in capital expenditures. It has paid a growing dividend in each of the last 26 years.

We continue to rate Exxon shares a Buy. We believe that Exxon shares not only provide investors with a strong defensive shield in the current turbulent environment, but also enable them to get full exposure to the all-important energy sector.