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

Key Points

• Imperial Oil Limited has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from nine research firms, with three sell ratings, five hold ratings, and one buy rating.
• Institutional investors currently own 20.74% of Imperial Oil, with significant increases in positions from firms like Bessemer Group and LPL Financial in the first quarter.
• The company’s stock price is currently up 3.5% to $87.37, with a market cap of $44.26 billion and a 1-year target price set at $105.50.

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO has been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $105.50.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Desjardins cut Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial cut Imperial Oil from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research cut Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Tudor Pickering cut Imperial Oil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th.

Imperial Oil Trading Up 0.3%

NYSEAMERICAN IMO traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.78. 218,364 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 357,230. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Imperial Oil has a 1-year low of $58.76 and a 1-year high of $91.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.35. The firm has a market cap of $45.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.92.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio is 31.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IMO. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,630 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,686 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter worth $629,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 18,470 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 9,940 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 101,704 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company's stock.

Imperial Oil Company 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.