Imperial Oil (TSE:IMO) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares of Imperial Oil hit a new 52‑week high of C$185.11 (last C$182.08) on Tuesday, giving the company a market capitalization of C$88.55 billion and 50‑/200‑day moving averages of C$163.56 and C$140.41 respectively.
• Analysts are largely negative: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" with an average target of C$130.82, and brokerages have issued a mix of Hold and Sell ratings with targets ranging widely.
• Imperial raised its quarterly dividend from $0.72 to $0.87 (annualized $3.48), representing a 1.9% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 44.44%.

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (TSE:IMO - Get Free Report) NYSEMKT: IMO hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$185.11 and last traded at C$182.08, with a volume of 281965 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$180.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on IMO. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a C$116.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Imperial Oil from C$101.00 to C$110.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Imperial Oil from C$107.00 to C$126.00 in a report on Monday, March 30th. National Bank Financial raised their price target on shares of Imperial Oil from C$139.00 to C$212.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Imperial Oil from C$120.00 to C$132.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and an average target price of C$130.82.

Imperial Oil Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a market capitalization of C$88.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's 50 day moving average price is C$163.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$140.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.69.

Imperial Oil (TSE:IMO - Get Free Report) NYSEMKT: IMO last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported C$1.97 earnings per share for the quarter. Imperial Oil had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The business had revenue of C$11.28 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Imperial Oil Limited will post 8.6164609 EPS for the current year.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a boost from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

About Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil is one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies, focusing on upstream operations, petroleum refining operations, and the marketing of petroleum products. Production averaged 398 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020. The company estimates that it holds 5.2 billion boe of proved and probable crude oil and natural gas reserves. Imperial remains the largest refiner of petroleum products in Canada, operating three refineries with a combined processing capacity of 421 mboe/d.

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