Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IMO. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 43,162,088 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,659,965,000 after buying an additional 6,228,461 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Imperial Oil by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,825,945 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $297,268,000 after acquiring an additional 105,970 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,398,899 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $147,772,000 after acquiring an additional 26,891 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,086,840 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $67,634,000 after purchasing an additional 244,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 212,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

Imperial Oil Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of IMO traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $72.83. The stock had a trading volume of 36,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,132. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.08. Imperial Oil has a 12-month low of $60.95 and a 12-month high of $80.17.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.4972 per share. This is a boost from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.