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

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Imperial Oil from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Imperial Oil to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN IMO traded up $1.19 on Thursday, reaching $72.03. 96,107 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,197. Imperial Oil has a 12 month low of $60.95 and a 12 month high of $80.17. The company has a market cap of $36.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $69.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

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Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.4972 dividend. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 43,162,088 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,659,965,000 after purchasing an additional 6,228,461 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter worth $19,507,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,086,840 shares of the energy company's stock worth $67,634,000 after purchasing an additional 244,176 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 945,002 shares of the energy company's stock worth $58,212,000 after acquiring an additional 212,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP grew its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 131.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 356,972 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $25,134,000 after acquiring an additional 202,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.