Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, September 14th. Imperial Capital reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Desjardins upgraded Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:IMO opened at $119.30 on Tuesday. Imperial Oil has a twelve month low of $83.27 and a twelve month high of $139.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $129.26 and its 200-day moving average is $126.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 0.57.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The energy company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $1.53. Imperial Oil had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The business had revenue of $11.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.86 EPS. Imperial Oil’s revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Imperial Oil will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Imperial Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of C$0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $218,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 11.2% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 30.8% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,326 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,040,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Imperial Oil during the second quarter worth $1,180,000. 20.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil Limited is an integrated Canadian energy company engaged in the exploration, production, transportation, refining and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. Founded in 1880, the company is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and has operations primarily across Canada.

Imperial’s upstream business includes oil sands production at its Kearl and Cold Lake projects, as well as conventional oil and natural gas activities. The company also holds an interest in Syncrude, one of Canada’s major oil sands mining and upgrading operations.