Short Interest in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Declines By 7.0%

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,790,000 shares, a decline of 7.0% from the December 15th total of 16,980,000 shares. Approximately 9.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 493,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 32.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on IMO. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in Imperial Oil in the third quarter worth $28,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 438.0% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 538 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Imperial Oil in the 3rd quarter worth about $101,000. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

IMO stock traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $68.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 462,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 455,065. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.45. Imperial Oil has a 12-month low of $54.74 and a 12-month high of $80.17.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.4304 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.34%.

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.