Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Shares of IMO stock opened at $71.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $38.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The energy company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.10. Imperial Oil had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 9.46%. The company had revenue of $9.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. On average, analysts predict that Imperial Oil will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.4377 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust bought a new position in Imperial Oil during the first quarter worth about $239,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 41.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,540 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 3,980 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 319,300 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $22,024,000 after acquiring an additional 49,200 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Imperial Oil by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 89,481 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. 20.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.