Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Imperial Oil shares reached a new 52-week high of $86.91 amid trading, closing slightly lower at $86.19.
• Analysts have shown a mixed outlook, with Desjardins and others downgrading the stock to a "strong sell" and "hold" ratings, while BMO Capital Markets maintains an "outperform" rating.
• The stock currently holds an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $105.50, indicating potential for future growth despite recent downgrades.

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $86.91 and last traded at $86.19, with a volume of 23188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on IMO shares. Wolfe Research cut Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial cut Imperial Oil from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Tudor Pickering cut Imperial Oil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Desjardins cut Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.50.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.17. The company has a market capitalization of $43.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.92.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IMO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 395.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,546,520 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $328,804,000 after acquiring an additional 3,629,568 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 273.2% during the first quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 658,949 shares of the energy company's stock worth $47,607,000 after buying an additional 482,393 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 1,233.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 498,056 shares of the energy company's stock worth $35,983,000 after buying an additional 460,696 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 16.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,235,443 shares of the energy company's stock worth $257,194,000 after buying an additional 451,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 18.4% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,053,989 shares of the energy company's stock worth $163,413,000 after buying an additional 318,696 shares during the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.