Oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil 's fundamentals are improving, making for a strong buying opportunity for investors, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management CEO Josh Brown. Shares of Exxon Mobil are up more than 10% year to date, but Brown said he sees further room to grow. He expects the stock, which is near $119, to test a breakout level in the $125 area. "There are some stocks that move very quickly back and forth. They're in an uptrend, they're in a downtrend, and then there are oil tanker stocks that it really takes a lot for them to change direction, but once they do, they could run in that direction for a long time and you want to be on the right side of that trade," Brown said Thursday on CNBC's " Halftime Report ." "ExxonMobil has been consolidating since 2022 around these levels and is now hitting the upper end of that range." Brown said he expects Exxon to accelerate growth on the back of projects such as the "Golden Pass" LNG export terminal, which it owns with QatarEnergy. He called the LNG terminal "a growth-ier business than just refining or exploration." The project is set to begin operations at the end of this year and should boost Exxon's future earnings. XOM 1Y mountain Exxon Mobil performance over the past year. "You're buffered to the downside by two things. Number one, the dividend yield, but number two, very low expectations," Brown continued. "This is a really interesting scenario where the fundamentals for Exxon are now bottoming, will be improving in 2026 based on what management said on Halloween when they reported earnings, and the technicals are lining up at the same time." Exxon has grown dividends consistently for more than 40 years, and it has delivered on cost-cutting even amid lower energy prices. Structural costs will be cut by another $6 billion through the end of 2027, the energy giant said, which would add up to $15 billion in total savings compared with 2019. "Now that they've got their costs as low as they are, this could be an upside surprise after upside surprise situation going into '26. I think it will break out, and I think this is one of the best stocks in the market for that reason," Brown said. On Oct. 31, Exxon CEO Darren Woods told CNBC its profitability on a barrel of oil has more than doubled since 2019 due to its cost cutting efforts. Exxon has a slew of strong ratings from analysts. According to LSEG, of the 29 analysts covering Exxon stock, six rate it a strong buy, 10 give it a buy and 12 have a hold. One analyst has maintained an underperform rating on the stock. Analysts polled by LSEG have a consensus price target of $129.17, which implies more than 8.5% potential upside for Exxon shares. DISCLOSURES: All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC" TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.
