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

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

Imperial Oil Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSEAMERICAN IMO traded down $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.42. 462,381 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 455,065. The company has a market cap of $35.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Imperial Oil has a fifty-two week low of $54.74 and a fifty-two week high of $80.17.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

IMO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Imperial Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,933,627 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,598,604,000 after buying an additional 1,331,235 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 10,896.4% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 867,174 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $59,135,000 after buying an additional 859,288 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Imperial Oil by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,420,002 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $311,175,000 after acquiring an additional 341,689 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP increased its position in Imperial Oil by 131.2% in 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. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 9.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,107,250 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $148,235,000 after purchasing an additional 187,158 shares during the period. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.