Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Imperial Oil Limited has received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from analysts, with four sell ratings, six holds, and one buy rating, while the average price target is set at $115.00.
• Hedge funds have shown significant activity in Imperial Oil shares, with several firms making notable acquisitions, leading to 20.74% ownership by institutional investors.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.72 per share, up from $0.52, representing an annualized yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 31.87%.

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO has been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IMO. Wolfe Research cut Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Zacks Research cut Imperial Oil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Tudor Pickering cut Imperial Oil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Imperial Oil from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, TD Securities cut Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Imperial Oil

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Imperial Oil during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. MAI Capital Management increased its position in Imperial Oil by 2,275.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 380 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Imperial Oil by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 543 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Imperial Oil by 7,136.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Shares of Imperial Oil stock opened at $87.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $43.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.83. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.22. Imperial Oil has a one year low of $58.76 and a one year high of $96.09.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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