StockNews.com Upgrades Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) to “Buy”

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Imperial Oil stock opened at $68.95 on Monday. Imperial Oil has a fifty-two week low of $44.46 and a fifty-two week high of $74.58. The stock has a market cap of $36.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The energy company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Imperial Oil had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 20.71%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Imperial Oil will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new position in Imperial Oil in the first quarter valued at about $239,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Imperial Oil by 41.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,540 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its stake in Imperial Oil by 18.2% in the first quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 319,300 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $22,024,000 after acquiring an additional 49,200 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 89,481 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.