Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

IMO has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $116.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Securities reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial lowered Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:IMO opened at $127.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.56. Imperial Oil has a 52-week low of $58.76 and a 52-week high of $131.62.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is an increase from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 38.69%.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $1,002,000. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter worth $221,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 1,446.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 727 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,504 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 3,240 shares during the period. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.