Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $99.50.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IMO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Imperial Oil from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Imperial Oil during the second quarter worth $3,064,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Imperial Oil by 91.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,210 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after buying an additional 9,660 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Imperial Oil during the first quarter worth $720,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Imperial Oil by 1,250.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,849 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 7,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Imperial Oil during the first quarter worth $931,000. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Shares of Imperial Oil stock opened at $75.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.47. Imperial Oil has a fifty-two week low of $52.97 and a fifty-two week high of $77.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The energy company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.11. Imperial Oil had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The company had revenue of $9.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.50 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Imperial Oil will post 6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.4336 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is currently 27.59%.

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.