Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) from "hold" to a "strong-buy", but analyst sentiment is mixed overall — one Strong Buy, three Holds and six Sells, yielding an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $116.00.
• The stock opened near $130.21 (close to its 52-week high of $131.23), with a market cap of about $62.97 billion, a P/E of 28.43, and 50-/200-day moving averages of $114.48 and $99.37 respectively.
• Imperial Oil is a Canadian integrated energy company majority-owned by Exxon Mobil, operating across upstream and downstream activities, and institutional investors hold roughly 20.74% of the stock.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on IMO. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Imperial Oil from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $116.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

NYSEAMERICAN IMO opened at $130.21 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.37. Imperial Oil has a 52 week low of $58.76 and a 52 week high of $131.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43 and a beta of 0.66.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IMO. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new position in Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 2,275.0% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 380 shares of the energy company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Imperial Oil by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the energy company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Imperial Oil by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the energy company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by 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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