Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Cut to “Sell” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

IMO has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Imperial Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN IMO opened at $70.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Imperial Oil has a 52-week low of $60.95 and a 52-week high of $80.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.30.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.4972 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a boost from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IMO. Winch Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Group One Trading LLC boosted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 755 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,630 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.