Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Get Free Report) TSE: IMO saw a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,680,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the November 15th total of 16,460,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 468,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 37.7 days. Approximately 10.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Imperial Oil

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 262.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 95,455 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,511,000 after purchasing an additional 69,121 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in Imperial Oil by 522.8% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 201,126 shares of the energy company's stock worth $14,166,000 after buying an additional 168,831 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 17.4% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 59,726 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,208,000 after acquiring an additional 8,858 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 13.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 751,038 shares of the energy company's stock worth $52,885,000 after acquiring an additional 87,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 855.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 35,981 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,534,000 after acquiring an additional 32,214 shares during the period. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on IMO. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

NYSEAMERICAN IMO traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $65.90. 321,162 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 409,925. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Imperial Oil has a 1-year low of $54.58 and a 1-year high of $80.17. The firm has a market cap of $33.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 1.42.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.4304 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Imperial Oil's payout ratio is 26.38%.

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.