Warren Buffett famously said he tries "to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful." With the S&P 500 up more than 30% over the last 12 months and the Nasdaq-100 soaring more than 50%, there's a pretty good argument that some investors are getting greedy.

So am I fearful? Not really. I am highly selective about which stocks I buy (as is Buffett). But ExxonMobil (XOM -2.78%) stands out as one stock that meets my stringent criteria. Here are three reasons why I just bought this high-yield dividend stock.

1. An attractive valuation

The S&P 500's cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings (CAPE) ratio, also known as the Shiller PE ratio, is almost 34. That's the highest level since early 2022, when the index plunged 19%. It's higher than the S&P 500's CAPE ratio was in 1929 before the infamous stock market crash in October of that year.

I mention this because I believe it's especially important to pay attention to stocks' valuations in a market that could be priced at a premium. The good news is that ExxonMobil is an outlier.

The oil and gas giant's shares trade at only 11.7 times forward earnings. By comparison, the S&P 500's forward earnings multiple is a lofty 21.3. ExxonMobil's valuation is also cheaper than the S&P 500 energy sector's forward earnings multiple of nearly 12.7.

2. A fantastic dividend

I don't rely on income from my stocks yet. However, I still like to receive solid dividends because they boost my total returns.

ExxonMobil knocks the ball out of the park in this category. Its dividend yield currently stands at nearly 3.5%. The company has increased its dividend for 41 consecutive years.

I fully expect ExxonMobil will join the elite group of stocks known as Dividend Kings within the next few years. The oil producer's dividend payout ratio remains low at only 41%. Management understands that the dividend is a major reason many investors own the stock and no doubt has ample motivation to keep the streak of dividend hikes going.

3. A potentially massive growth opportunity

ExxonMobil's valuation and dividend wouldn't mean much if I thought the company wouldn't be able to grow. I bought the stock, though, because I anticipate solid growth for years to come.

Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub predicts that an oil shortage is on the way by the end of 2025. She thinks there aren't enough new crude reserves to meet ongoing demand. I'm not sure if Hollub's prediction will come true, and even if it does, whether it will happen as quickly as she expects. However, I agree that oil prices will likely rise in the not-too-distant future. That's good news for ExxonMobil as one of the world's largest oil producers.

I'm especially intrigued by ExxonMobil's massive growth opportunity in carbon capture. The company has estimated that capturing and storing carbon dioxide will be a $4 trillion market by 2050.

ExxonMobil is investing heavily in carbon capture technology. CEO Darren Woods said in the Q4 conference call, "[W]e're convinced that carbon capture is going to play a really important role in helping society meet its ambitions to get to net zero or to make certainly significant reductions in carbon emissions."

Granted, it's still early. Woods acknowledged that there are big challenges in capturing carbon dioxide in a cost-effective way. However, ExxonMobil and other companies continue to make progress. I'm cautiously optimistic that carbon capture could be a huge growth driver for ExxonMobil over the long run.

Checking off all the boxes

The bottom line for me is that ExxonMobil checks off all the boxes. Value investors should like its low earnings multiple. Income investors should like its high dividend yield and impressive track record of dividend increases. Growth investors should be interested in ExxonMobil's opportunities with carbon capture.

I haven't gotten overly greedy with my purchase of ExxonMobil; it's less than 1% of my portfolio. As for being fearful, the only fear I had with this stock was FOMO -- the fear of missing out.