Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Separately, Raymond James raised Imperial Oil to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $85.33.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 0.4 %

IMO stock opened at $68.47 on Tuesday. Imperial Oil has a 1 year low of $48.20 and a 1 year high of $74.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $36.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.45.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The energy company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.10. Imperial Oil had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Imperial Oil will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.4377 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is 27.59%.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Imperial Oil by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 522 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Imperial Oil by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 493 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 938.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 810 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the first quarter worth about $46,000. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.