StockNews.com Upgrades Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Imperial Oil stock traded down $0.02 on Friday, reaching $68.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 272,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 380,292. Imperial Oil has a twelve month low of $44.46 and a twelve month high of $74.58. The firm has a market cap of $36.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The energy company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.10. Imperial Oil had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The business had revenue of $9.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Imperial Oil will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.4377 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Imperial Oil's payout ratio is presently 27.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMO. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,557,885 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,758,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,847 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 22,495,313 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,281,608,000 after purchasing an additional 316,009 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,632,262 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 70,144 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 95.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,597,474 shares of the energy company's stock worth $376,421,000 after buying an additional 3,225,957 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 114.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,371,517 shares of the energy company's stock worth $209,148,000 after buying an additional 1,801,671 shares in the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Imperial Oil Company Profile

Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic crude oil, and bitumen. The Downstream segment transports and refines crude oil, blends refined products, and distributes and markets of refined products.