Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Imperial Oil to “strong buy” from “hold,” but broader analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “reduce” rating and a $116 target price.
• Imperial Oil reported strong quarterly results, posting $4.52 in EPS versus the $2.99 consensus and $11.31 billion in revenue, up 43% year over year.
• The stock opened at $119.30, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 20.74% of shares.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

IMO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. TD Securities restated a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Imperial Capital restated a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Monday, September 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN IMO opened at $119.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $57.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 0.57. Imperial Oil has a twelve month low of $83.27 and a twelve month high of $139.44.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The energy company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $1.53. Imperial Oil had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The company had revenue of $11.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.86 earnings per share. Imperial Oil's revenue for the quarter was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Imperial Oil will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Imperial Oil by 1,446.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 727 shares of the energy company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA raised its position in Imperial Oil by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 760 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 954 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 100.0% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,000 shares of the energy company's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil Limited is an integrated Canadian energy company engaged in the exploration, production, transportation, refining and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. Founded in 1880, the company is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and has operations primarily across Canada.

Imperial's upstream business includes oil sands production at its Kearl and Cold Lake projects, as well as conventional oil and natural gas activities. The company also holds an interest in Syncrude, one of Canada's major oil sands mining and upgrading operations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.