Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Rating Increased to Hold at Desjardins

Key Points

• Desjardins upgraded Imperial Oil to a hold rating from its prior view, according to a Thursday research note.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed overall: Imperial Oil now has one Strong Buy, five Hold, and five Sell ratings, with a consensus rating of Reduce and an average target price of $116.00.
• The stock opened at $122.52, above the consensus target, and the company has a market cap of about $59.25 billion with relatively low debt and a 0.45 beta.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO was upgraded by analysts at Desjardins to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on IMO. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Imperial Capital reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, TD Securities restated a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

IMO stock opened at $122.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $122.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.70. Imperial Oil has a twelve month low of $81.66 and a twelve month high of $139.44. The firm has a market cap of $59.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90 and a beta of 0.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the energy company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 737.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 511 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the energy company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the third quarter worth $54,000. 20.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil NYSEAMERICAN: IMO is a Canadian integrated energy company involved in the exploration, production, refining and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Imperial has operated in Canada for well over a century and is one of the country's long-standing energy firms. The company is majority-owned by Exxon Mobil Corporation, which provides strategic and technical links to global upstream and downstream capabilities.

Imperial's operations span upstream activities—exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas and oil-sands resources—and downstream operations including refining, manufacturing of fuels and lubricants, petrochemical products, and retail distribution.

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