Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Short Interest Up 6.1% in March

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,330,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the March 15th total of 16,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 424,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 40.8 days. Approximately 10.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN:IMO opened at $69.25 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $37.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.48. Imperial Oil has a 52-week low of $44.46 and a 52-week high of $74.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The energy company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $9.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.29 billion. Imperial Oil had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 9.59%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Imperial Oil will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.4473 dividend. This represents a $1.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is currently 28.05%.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in Imperial Oil by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 522 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,154 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 8,450 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 5,684 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,313 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. 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.