Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Short Interest Update

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) saw a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,670,000 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the May 31st total of 21,980,000 shares. Approximately 12.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 361,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 57.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on IMO shares. Raymond James raised shares of Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com lowered Imperial Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Imperial Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.33.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IMO. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 29,218 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after buying an additional 11,717 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 137.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 88,842 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,086,000 after acquiring an additional 51,449 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil in the third quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Imperial Oil by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 197,264 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,292,000 after purchasing an additional 19,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Imperial Oil during the 4th quarter worth $5,124,000. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Imperial Oil Stock Up 1.4 %

IMO stock opened at $69.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $37.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.47. Imperial Oil has a 12 month low of $48.26 and a 12 month high of $74.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

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

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.4377 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend 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%.

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.