Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.33.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IMO. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMO. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 14,364 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $874,000 after acquiring an additional 4,308 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 945,002 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $58,212,000 after acquiring an additional 212,707 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $258,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,193 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,893,000 after purchasing an additional 5,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,982,000. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 0.6%

NYSEAMERICAN:IMO opened at $72.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.80. The company has a market capitalization of $36.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Imperial Oil has a 1-year low of $58.76 and a 1-year high of $80.17.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.523 dividend. This is an increase from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 25.80%.

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.