Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to “Sell”

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on IMO. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Imperial Oil stock opened at $72.27 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Imperial Oil has a one year low of $60.95 and a one year high of $80.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.21. The firm has a market cap of $36.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.44.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.4972 per share. This represents a $1.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. This is a boost from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 25.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IMO. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,833 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new position in Imperial Oil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,051,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Imperial Oil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,507,000. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in Imperial Oil by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 13,002 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 5,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Imperial Oil in the fourth quarter worth $3,152,000. 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.