Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 185,951 Shares of Imperial Oil Limited $IMO

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn sold 185,951 shares (a 9.1% reduction), leaving it with 1,868,038 Imperial Oil shares (~0.38% ownership) valued at about $169.34 million.
• Imperial Oil raised its quarterly dividend to $0.87 (from $0.72), equal to $3.48 annually and a 2.9% yield; the ex-dividend date is March 5 and the payment date is April 1.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly negative, with an average rating of "Strong Sell", an average target price of $116, and several recent downgrades.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,868,038 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 185,951 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.38% of Imperial Oil worth $169,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barometer Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 15.7% during the third quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 125,892 shares of the energy company's stock worth $11,423,000 after purchasing an additional 17,052 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 110,590 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $10,035,000 after buying an additional 40,685 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,462 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $108,282,000 after buying an additional 428,844 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 932,425 shares of the energy company's stock worth $84,565,000 after buying an additional 119,718 shares during the period. Finally, Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Imperial Oil by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 172,932 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $15,684,000 after buying an additional 4,919 shares in the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Imperial Oil Trading Up 2.0%

Imperial Oil stock opened at $120.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.27. Imperial Oil Limited has a fifty-two week low of $58.76 and a fifty-two week high of $123.52. The stock has a market cap of $58.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $107.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.81.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Securities reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Imperial Oil from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $116.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Imperial Oil currently has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and an average target price of $116.00.

About Imperial Oil

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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