Short Interest in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Declines By 7.0%

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,790,000 shares, a decline of 7.0% from the December 15th total of 16,980,000 shares. Currently, 9.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 493,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 32.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMO. Winch Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Imperial Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 438.0% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 538 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 21.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Imperial Oil in the third quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on IMO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research cut Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Imperial Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.00.

Imperial Oil Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSEAMERICAN IMO traded down $0.23 on Monday, hitting $68.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 462,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 455,065. The stock has a market cap of $35.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.45. Imperial Oil has a 52-week low of $54.74 and a 52-week high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.4304 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.34%.

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.