Imperial Oil’s (IMO) “Sector Perform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $101.00 target price on the energy company’s stock.

IMO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.33.

Imperial Oil Trading Down 7.5 %

Shares of IMO opened at $63.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $32.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.57. Imperial Oil has a 12-month low of $60.95 and a 12-month high of $80.17.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.4972 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 25.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 9.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,664 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $59,502,000 after acquiring an additional 70,357 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 14,364 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 4,308 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Imperial Oil by 13.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 751,038 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $52,885,000 after purchasing an additional 87,914 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Imperial Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Imperial Oil by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,838 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

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.