ExxonMobil: You Like Me, You Really Like Me

It's been a tough year so far for ExxonMobil ( XOM ) but the outlook might be brightening following its investor day. Shares of ExxonMobil have lost 9.1% so far this year including reinvested dividends through last night, lagging the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF's ( XLE ) 5.3% decline, and the S&P 500's 5.9% return. Personally, I recommended bailing on Exxon in a Jan. 14 column, arguing that it was fell outside the sweet spot of what investors would be looking for. But Exxon is now on pace for its biggest gain since mid-December thanks to the upbeat outlook presented in its slides for analyst day . RBC's Brad Heffern has the details: