Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $83.65 and last traded at $82.42, with a volume of 411826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Imperial Oil from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Desjardins cut Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Imperial Oil from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Imperial Oil Trading Down 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $41.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.523 per share. This represents a $2.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. This is a boost from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 31.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter worth $7,982,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,803 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the 4th quarter worth $193,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,555 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after acquiring an additional 4,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,890,000. 20.74% of the stock is currently 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.