Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.00.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on IMO shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Imperial Oil from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $116.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

IMO stock opened at $130.53 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.86 and a 200-day moving average of $101.30. Imperial Oil has a fifty-two week low of $58.76 and a fifty-two week high of $133.37. The company has a market capitalization of $63.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is currently 38.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 64.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 737.7% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 511 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

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.