Exxon's shares and dividend

Exxon shares rose 3.64% on Tuesday to their highest in almost 1.5 years after receiving a "buy" rating and a high target price from Bank of America. This was preceded by a rise in oil prices and long-awaited changes to Exxon's board of directors.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) shares rose sharply on Tuesday after Bank of America analyst Doug Leggate gave them a "buy" recommendation and a target price for the next 12 months of $90, a rise of nearly 40% from Tuesday's closing price of $64.33.

Exxon shares are up 56% since the start of 2021. Here's what preceded that.

It's worth noting that Exxon earned $2.7bn for its first quarter, compared with a $20.1bn loss a quarter earlier, while its operating cash flow jumped 48% to $9.3bn, resulting in a debt reduction of more than $4bn.

Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said: "Operating cash flow throughout the quarter fully covered dividends and capital expenditure and we strengthened the balance sheet by reducing debt".

Rising oil prices

Exxon shares aren't the only ones in the oil and gas industry to have risen over the past year. Chevron (CVX) shares have also risen 30.6% since the start of the year.

After the 2020 crisis, the global economy has started to recover, boosting demand for oil production. At the same time, the OPEC+ group of countries (OPEC and its oil allies) have agreed to continue to gradually reduce production, a similar decision was made at the last meeting on 1 June.

Against this backdrop, investors expect demand for oil to outstrip supply over the coming months at least.

Crude oil prices recently reached a 2-year high of $71.78 per barrel, the highest price level since October 2018.