Imperial Petroleum (NASDAQ:IMPP) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Imperial Petroleum (IMPP) from a "buy" to a "hold"; the stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target price of $6.00 after similar moves by Maxim and a hold reaffirmation from Weiss Ratings.
• The company approved a $10.0 million share repurchase plan (up to ~8.3% of shares); IMPP opened at $4.25 (down ~2.7%), with a market cap of $153.94 million and a P/E of 3.29.
• 94.44% institutional ownership — several funds (including GSA Capital, Two Sigma, Mercer and Allegheny Financial Group) recently built or increased positions in the stock.

Imperial Petroleum (NASDAQ:IMPP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

IMPP has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Imperial Petroleum in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Maxim Group downgraded shares of Imperial Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Imperial Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.00.

Imperial Petroleum Stock Down 2.7%

NASDAQ IMPP opened at $4.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $153.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.45. Imperial Petroleum has a 12-month low of $2.44 and a 12-month high of $6.57.

Imperial Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 9th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IMPP. Allegheny Financial Group raised its stake in Imperial Petroleum by 6.5% in the third quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 83,653 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 5,114 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Imperial Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $755,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Imperial Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $90,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Imperial Petroleum by 14.3% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 160,000 shares of the company's stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Imperial Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 94.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Imperial Petroleum

Imperial Petroleum Inc provides international seaborne transportation services to oil producers, refineries, and commodities traders. It carries refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel, as well as edible oils and chemicals, crude oils, iron ore, coal and grains, and minor bulks, such as bauxite, phosphate, and fertilizers. As of April 1, 2024, the company owned and operated a fleet of six medium range refined petroleum product tankers; one Aframax tanker; two suezmax tankers; and two handysize drybulk carriers with a total capacity of 791,000 deadweight tons.

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