StockNews.com Lowers Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Separately, Raymond James raised Imperial Oil to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Imperial Oil presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $85.33.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Imperial Oil stock opened at $69.64 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $37.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.34. Imperial Oil has a 1 year low of $48.26 and a 1 year high of $74.58.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The energy company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.10. Imperial Oil had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The company had revenue of $9.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Imperial Oil will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.4377 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 522 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 84.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 493 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 8.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC increased its position in Imperial Oil by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 7,104 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in Imperial Oil by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 12,894 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 409 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.