Analysts Set Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Price Target at $105.50

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $105.50.

IMO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Imperial Oil from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Desjardins lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th.

Imperial Oil Trading Up 0.9%

IMO opened at $92.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Imperial Oil has a 12-month low of $58.76 and a 12-month high of $96.09.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is currently 31.56%.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IMO. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Imperial Oil in the 1st quarter valued at about $226,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Imperial Oil by 198.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 23,690 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 15,765 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 0.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 617,706 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $42,368,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Imperial Oil by 2.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 199,021 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $14,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,889 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Imperial Oil by 68.6% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 79,692 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,763,000 after purchasing an additional 32,437 shares during the period. 20.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.