Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday morning.

Imperial Oil Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN IMO traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.16. The stock had a trading volume of 203,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 411,705. Imperial Oil has a fifty-two week low of $44.89 and a fifty-two week high of $74.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.47.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The energy company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.10. Imperial Oil had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $9.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Imperial Oil will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.4377 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is 27.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,557,885 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,758,993,000 after buying an additional 1,001,847 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 22,495,313 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,281,608,000 after acquiring an additional 316,009 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,632,262 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 70,144 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 95.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,597,474 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $376,421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 114.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,371,517 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $209,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801,671 shares in the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Imperial Oil Company Profile

Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic crude oil, and bitumen. The Downstream segment transports and refines crude oil, blends refined products, and distributes and markets of refined products.