Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO's stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $83.65 and last traded at $82.42, with a volume of 411826 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on IMO. Raymond James Financial lowered Imperial Oil from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Desjardins lowered Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Imperial Oil from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.50.

Imperial Oil Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.99. The firm has a market cap of $42.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.89.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a $0.523 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio is 31.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Group One Trading LLC lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 755 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Imperial Oil by 0.6% during the first quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 28,082 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,029,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 4.9% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,971 shares of the energy company's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 88.5% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 543 shares of the energy company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 2.0% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 14,861 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.