Investors Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO)

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 10,195 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 6,742% compared to the average daily volume of 149 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IMO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. TD Securities reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $115.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN IMO opened at $92.40 on Friday. Imperial Oil has a 12 month low of $58.76 and a 12 month high of $101.01. The company has a market cap of $45.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $92.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Imperial Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 31.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $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 buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

About Imperial Oil

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.