Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN IMO opened at $71.16 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $38.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.48. Imperial Oil has a fifty-two week low of $44.46 and a fifty-two week high of $74.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Imperial Oil had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 9.46%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Imperial Oil will post 6.07 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.4377 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 27.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Imperial Oil by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 522 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 84.0% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 493 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 3.0% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 8,450 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,313 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Clarius Group LLC grew its position in Imperial Oil by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 7,104 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 402 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.