Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $85.35 and last traded at $84.89, with a volume of 338655 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IMO shares. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Desjardins downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.50.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.34. The company has a market capitalization of $42.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.89.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $0.523 dividend. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $2.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is currently 31.87%.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMO. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 1.5% in the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,090 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 27.0% in the second quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 22,579 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,795,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 2.6% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 66,943 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil in the second quarter valued at approximately $612,000. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

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.