Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Trading Down 4.6% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) traded down 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $74.41 and last traded at $74.60. 75,260 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 395,552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IMO shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Imperial Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Imperial Oil in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.50.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $40.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.44.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The energy company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $9.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.50 billion. Imperial Oil had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 10.05%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Imperial Oil Limited will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.4336 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is currently 25.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Imperial Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. RFP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Imperial Oil in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Imperial Oil by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 493 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 438.0% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 538 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Imperial Oil by 43.8% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.