Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on IMO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank upgraded Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Imperial Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.33.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 5.9 %

IMO stock traded down $3.83 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.78. 320,848 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 440,940. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.12. The company has a market capitalization of $30.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 1.44. Imperial Oil has a twelve month low of $58.76 and a twelve month high of $80.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.4972 per share. This represents a $1.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is 25.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMO. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC grew its stake in Imperial Oil by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 755 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 27,904 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,920 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.