Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday . 4,067,985 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 892% from the previous session’s volume of 409,979 shares.The stock last traded at $73.17 and had previously closed at $73.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IMO. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $37.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.4304 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 26.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,933,627 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,598,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331,235 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Imperial Oil by 8.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,420,002 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $311,175,000 after acquiring an additional 341,689 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Imperial Oil by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,796,660 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $258,817,000 after acquiring an additional 412,600 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Imperial Oil by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,107,250 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $148,235,000 after acquiring an additional 187,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 10,896.4% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 867,174 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $59,135,000 after acquiring an additional 859,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

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.