Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Reaches New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Imperial Oil hit a new 52-week high of $133.45 (last traded $132.92) on Thursday, with a 50-day moving average of $124.60 and a 200-day moving average of $105.73.
• Research firms hold a generally negative view — the stock's consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $116 (1 Strong Buy, 3 Hold, 5 Sell).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.87 (up from $0.72), equal to a $3.48 annualized payout and a yield of about 2.6% with a payout ratio near 38.7%.

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $133.45 and last traded at $132.9190, with a volume of 255328 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $130.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IMO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Imperial Oil from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $116.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $124.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.73. The firm has a market cap of $64.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Argent Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Imperial Oil in the third quarter valued at $2,308,000. MAI Capital Management raised its position in Imperial Oil by 2,776.1% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 10,929 shares of the energy company's stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,549 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Imperial Oil by 13.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 84,287 shares of the energy company's stock worth $7,648,000 after purchasing an additional 10,299 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Imperial Oil by 88.4% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 36,253 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 17,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Imperial Oil in the third quarter worth about $1,852,000. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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