Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Imperial Capital reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Desjardins raised Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Imperial Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN IMO opened at $133.28 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.59. Imperial Oil has a 1 year low of $82.45 and a 1 year high of $139.44.

Imperial Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 38.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Imperial Oil by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,218 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Imperial Oil by 54.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,887 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the first quarter valued at about $200,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 6.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,569 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 4.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 354,865 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,205,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Imperial Oil

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.