Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Downgraded by Desjardins to Strong Sell

Desjardins downgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on IMO. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Imperial Oil from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Imperial Oil from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Imperial Oil to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Imperial Oil presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.33.

Imperial Oil Stock Up 0.8%

NYSEAMERICAN IMO traded up $0.58 on Tuesday, reaching $73.54. The company had a trading volume of 477,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,962. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.34. Imperial Oil has a 1-year low of $58.76 and a 1-year high of $80.17. The company's fifty day moving average is $68.48 and its 200-day moving average is $69.98.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.523 per share. This is a boost from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.80%.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Imperial Oil by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 945,002 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $58,212,000 after acquiring an additional 212,707 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Imperial Oil by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,193 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,893,000 after acquiring an additional 5,181 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,982,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Imperial Oil by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,408 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company's stock.

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.