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

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $116.00.

Several research firms recently commented on IMO. Desjardins raised shares of Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Imperial Capital reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IMO. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 88.4% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 36,253 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,290,000 after buying an additional 17,011 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,301,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 41,858 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,625,000 after acquiring an additional 17,643 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,709,910 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $147,582,000 after acquiring an additional 303,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN IMO opened at $124.22 on Wednesday. Imperial Oil has a twelve month low of $81.71 and a twelve month high of $139.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $60.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $121.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.44.

Imperial Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is 38.24%.

Imperial Oil Company Profile

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN: IMO) is a Canadian integrated energy company involved in the exploration, production, refining and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Imperial has operated in Canada for well over a century and is one of the country’s long-standing energy firms. The company is majority-owned by Exxon Mobil Corporation, which provides strategic and technical links to global upstream and downstream capabilities.

Imperial’s operations span upstream activities—exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas and oil-sands resources—and downstream operations including refining, manufacturing of fuels and lubricants, petrochemical products, and retail distribution.