Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.00.

IMO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Imperial Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. TD Securities reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Raymond James Financial lowered Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IMO. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. MAI Capital Management grew its position in Imperial Oil by 2,275.0% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 380 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Imperial Oil by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 737.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 511 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 20.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN IMO opened at $85.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.47. Imperial Oil has a 1 year low of $58.76 and a 1 year high of $101.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $92.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.85.

Imperial Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 31.26%.

About Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN: IMO) is a Canadian integrated energy company involved in the exploration, production, refining and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Imperial has operated in Canada for well over a century and is one of the country’s long-standing energy firms. The company is majority-owned by Exxon Mobil Corporation, which provides strategic and technical links to global upstream and downstream capabilities.

Imperial’s operations span upstream activities—exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas and oil-sands resources—and downstream operations including refining, manufacturing of fuels and lubricants, petrochemical products, and retail distribution.