Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stock Holdings in Imperial Oil Limited $IMO

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia cut its Imperial Oil stake by 6.4% in the first quarter, selling 34,298 shares and ending with 499,212 shares valued at about $65.4 million.
• Imperial Oil recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, which works out to an annualized yield of about 2.7% and a payout ratio of 38.24%.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average price target of $116, even as the shares traded at $128.48 and have moved between $81.87 and $139.44 over the past year.

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 499,212 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 34,298 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.10% of Imperial Oil worth $65,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of IMO. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Imperial Oil by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,218 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,475,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,887 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 4,201 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Imperial Oil in the 1st quarter worth about $200,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 6.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,569 shares of the energy company's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 4.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 354,865 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,205,000 after acquiring an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.74% of the company's stock.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Shares of IMO opened at $128.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $121.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.07. Imperial Oil Limited has a fifty-two week low of $81.87 and a fifty-two week high of $139.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.45.

Imperial Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IMO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Friday, July 17th. TD Securities restated a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Desjardins raised Imperial Oil to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Imperial Capital reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Imperial Oil 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.

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