Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Imperial Oil from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Shares of IMO opened at $85.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $88.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.73. Imperial Oil has a 1-year low of $58.76 and a 1-year high of $96.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.83.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.87%.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 1.0% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,873,843 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $352,014,000 after acquiring an additional 47,898 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 395.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,546,520 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $328,804,000 after purchasing an additional 3,629,568 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,235,443 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $257,194,000 after purchasing an additional 451,369 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,945,528 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $234,111,000 after purchasing an additional 707,985 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 18.4% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,053,989 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $163,413,000 after buying an additional 318,696 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

About Imperial Oil

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.