Imperial Oil Limited $IMO Shares Sold by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD reduced its stake in Imperial Oil by 19.4% in the first quarter, shedding over 32,000 shares, and now holds 133,325 shares valued at approximately $9.6 million.
• Imperial Oil recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.52 to $0.72, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.88 and a yield of 3.1%.
• The stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with Zacks upgrading it to a "strong buy" and Wolfe Research downgrading it to a "peer perform", highlighting divided sentiment among investors.

Guinness Asset Management LTD lessened its stake in shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO by 19.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,325 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 32,141 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $9,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Group One Trading LLC lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 755 shares of the energy company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 0.6% during the first quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 28,082 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 88.5% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 543 shares of the energy company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 2.0% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 14,861 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.74% of the company's stock.

Imperial Oil Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Imperial Oil stock opened at $91.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.94. Imperial Oil Limited has a fifty-two week low of $58.76 and a fifty-two week high of $92.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.74.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IMO shares. Wolfe Research lowered Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Raymond James Financial lowered Imperial Oil from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Desjardins lowered Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Imperial Oil has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.50.

Imperial Oil 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.

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