Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $115.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on IMO shares. Zacks Research downgraded Imperial Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Shares of IMO opened at $103.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.47. Imperial Oil has a fifty-two week low of $58.76 and a fifty-two week high of $104.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.03. The company has a market capitalization of $49.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 0.70.

Imperial Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 31.26%.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Busey Bank acquired a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the 4th quarter worth $258,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 153,539 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $13,282,000 after buying an additional 36,267 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp grew its position in Imperial Oil by 101.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 6,074 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 3,062 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Imperial Oil by 209.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 653 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,542 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the period. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.