Imperial Oil (TSE:IMO) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Imperial Oil's stock reached a new 52-week high, trading at C$119.54 during mid-day, with a recent price of C$118.08.
• The company's quarterly dividend has increased to $0.74 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.72, representing a yield of 2.5%.
• Several analysts have downgraded Imperial Oil's stock rating from "buy" to "hold," with an average target price now at C$104.11.

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (TSE:IMO - Get Free Report) NYSEMKT: IMO hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$119.54 and last traded at C$118.08, with a volume of 338765 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$116.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Desjardins cut shares of Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Imperial Oil from C$110.00 to C$108.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Imperial Oil from C$100.00 to C$110.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Imperial Oil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Imperial Oil from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$105.00 to C$107.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of C$106.00.

Imperial Oil Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.04. The firm has a market cap of C$61.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.78. The business's fifty day moving average is C$110.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$101.78.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.78%.

Imperial Oil Company Profile

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.