Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Stock Breaks Below 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO)’s stock price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $124.55 and traded as low as $121.57. Imperial Oil shares last traded at $123.54, with a volume of 728,066 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on IMO shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, September 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.55. The company has a market cap of $58.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.55.

Imperial Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of C$0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Imperial Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $93,097,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Imperial Oil during the second quarter worth $24,051,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Imperial Oil by 23.6% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 569,676 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $74,508,000 after acquiring an additional 108,700 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Imperial Oil by 147.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 57,879 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,134,000 after acquiring an additional 34,509 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 3.3% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 734,540 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $90,977,000 after purchasing an additional 23,508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

About Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil is an integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta, with operations spanning oil and natural gas production, refining, and the marketing of fuels and other petroleum products. Founded in 1880, it is one of Canada’s longest-standing petroleum companies and is majority-owned by Exxon Mobil.

The company produces oil and natural gas from conventional resources and oil sands, including operations at Cold Lake and Kearl, as well as its participation in the Syncrude project.