Imperial Oil (TSE:IMO) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Imperial Oil hit a new 52-week high of C$178.80 on Tuesday, trading up about 3.2% and well above its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• Despite the rally, analysts hold a consensus "Strong Sell" rating with an average price target of C$122.45 (mixed individual upgrades and downgrades reported).
• Imperial Oil raised its quarterly dividend to $0.87 per share (annualized $3.48, yield ~1.9%), with an ex-dividend date of March 5 and payment on April 1.

Imperial Oil Limited (TSE:IMO - Get Free Report) NYSEMKT: IMO shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$178.80 and last traded at C$178.80, with a volume of 173857 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$173.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on shares of Imperial Oil from C$127.00 to C$139.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Imperial Oil from C$99.00 to C$108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Securities lifted their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from C$132.00 to C$129.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Imperial Oil from C$106.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus price target of C$122.45.

Imperial Oil Stock Up 3.2%

The company has a market cap of C$86.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$154.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$136.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.69, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.27.

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

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Imperial Oil's payout ratio is 44.44%.

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. 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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