Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.58 and traded as high as $131.67. Imperial Oil shares last traded at $130.66, with a volume of 483,844 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on IMO shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Desjardins upgraded shares of Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.20. 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 stock has a market cap of $61.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.57.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The energy company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $1.53. The firm had revenue of $11.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.92 billion. Imperial Oil had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 8.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.86 EPS. Analysts forecast that Imperial Oil Limited will post 11.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Imperial Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of C$0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 38.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Imperial Oil by 120.5% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 26,759 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 14,624 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in Imperial Oil by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 87,203 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $11,408,000 after purchasing an additional 11,737 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Imperial Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,040,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 61,265 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $7,552,000 after purchasing an additional 10,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Imperial Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at about $24,051,000. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

About Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil Limited is an integrated Canadian energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in 1880, the company explores for, produces, transports, refines and markets crude oil and natural gas, serving customers primarily in Canada. Imperial is one of the country’s largest petroleum companies and has a long-standing relationship with Exxon Mobil Corporation, which is its majority shareholder.

Imperial’s upstream operations include oil sands production at the Kearl and Cold Lake projects in Alberta, as well as a significant interest in the Syncrude oil sands mining and upgrading operation.