Imperial Oil Limited $IMO Holdings Increased by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

Key Points

• British Columbia Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Imperial Oil Limited by 273.2% in Q1, owning 658,949 shares valued at $47.6 million.
• Several institutional investors have made significant changes to their stakes in Imperial Oil, indicating a growing interest in the energy company.
• Imperial Oil's stock recently saw a 3.5% increase, with analysts generally rating it as a "Reduce" with an average target price of $105.50.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO by 273.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 658,949 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 482,393 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned 0.13% of Imperial Oil worth $47,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in IMO. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter worth $19,507,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 54.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 690,024 shares of the energy company's stock worth $49,842,000 after purchasing an additional 243,894 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Imperial Oil in the first quarter worth about $13,673,000. Genus Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Imperial Oil by 292.6% in the first quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,512 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,826,000 after acquiring an additional 143,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 195,132 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $12,020,000 after buying an additional 76,551 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IMO. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Desjardins downgraded Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN IMO traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $90.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 105,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,358. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $82.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.10. The firm has a market cap of $45.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 0.92. Imperial Oil Limited has a 1-year low of $58.76 and a 1-year high of $90.31.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.87%.

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.