Short Interest in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Drops By 8.1%

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,560,000 shares, a decrease of 8.1% from the January 15th total of 15,850,000 shares. Approximately 8.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 527,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 27.6 days.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of IMO traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $69.25. 379,032 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 570,686. 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 cap of $35.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 1.44. Imperial Oil has a fifty-two week low of $58.60 and a fifty-two week high of $80.17.

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 paid a dividend of $0.4972 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IMO has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research lowered Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Imperial Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Oil

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Winch Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Group One Trading LLC boosted its stake in Imperial Oil by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 755 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. 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.