Exxon nicked by rare Sell rating as Exane downgrades oil majors on oversupply

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) -0.3% in Wednesday’s trading as BNP Paribas Exane downgrades shares to Underperform from Neutral with a $105 price target, getting its first Sell equivalent rating in more than a year, foreseeing a further decline in crude oil prices.

The bank’s Lucas Herrmann also cut BP (BP) and Repsol (OTCQX:REPYF) (OTCQX:REPYY) to Neutral from outperform, citing a substantial excess in OPEC+ capacity which is “hanging over the sector like the Sword of Damocles” and exposure to a weaker refining outlook for all three companies.

Separately, Exxon (XOM) is in advanced talks with other shareholders to pave the way for the sale of a stake in Germany’s second-biggest refinery, which was halted after a court ruling earlier this year, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

Exxon (XOM) announced plans nearly a year ago to sell a 25% stake in the MiRO Mineraloelraffinerie Oberrhein to commodity trader Alcmene, an Austrian affiliate of trader and terminal operator Liwathon, but the deal has not concluded.

Shell (SHEL), another shareholder in the refinery, received a court ruling in July that said Exxon (XOM) should have first sought approval from all the refinery’s shareholders, and Exxon is now in the process of drawing up a compensation package with Shell, according to the report.