Analysts at UBS late Wednesday downgraded energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp. to sell, saying the company is likely to underperform relative to its global peers on production growth for “several years.” The analysts cut their price target on the shares to $77, from $86. Exxon also offers a lower dividend yield and trades at a premium to peers, the analysts said. In separate reports Wednesday, the UBS analysts also downgraded shares of EP Energy Corp. and upgraded the stocks of Devon Energy Corp. and Southwestern Energy Co. to neutral, saying they favor exploration and production companies that are lower cost and offer better valuations. Energy stocks on the S&P 500 collectively fell 0.3% Wednesday, whereas the S&P 500 index gained 0.2% for the day. Shares of Exxon were down 0.3% in late trading, after ending the regular session down 1.2%.
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