Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $99.50.

IMO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Imperial Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Imperial Oil in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IMO. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 5.1% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,266 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 5.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,308 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 8.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 5.6% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,831 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 84.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 493 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Imperial Oil stock opened at $70.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.40. Imperial Oil has a 52 week low of $52.97 and a 52 week high of $77.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 1.45.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The energy company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $9.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.50 billion. Imperial Oil had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.73%. As a group, research analysts predict that Imperial Oil will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.4336 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.90%.

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.