Short Interest in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Expands By 11.3%

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,940,000 shares, a growth of 11.3% from the August 15th total of 14,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 370,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 43.0 days. Currently, 9.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of IMO traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.48. 74,164 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 387,687. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Imperial Oil has a 1 year low of $52.97 and a 1 year high of $77.70.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The energy company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.11. Imperial Oil had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.50 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Imperial Oil will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a $0.4336 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Imperial Oil by 43.8% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 262.5% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 95,455 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,511,000 after purchasing an additional 69,121 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 14.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 38,305 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 4,843 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 15.4% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,192 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 9.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 445,497 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $30,379,000 after purchasing an additional 39,488 shares during the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Imperial Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Imperial Oil from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.50.

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.