Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Lowers Position in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 200,069 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 7,824 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $12,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,933,627 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,598,604,000 after buying an additional 1,331,235 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Imperial Oil by 8.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,420,002 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $311,175,000 after acquiring an additional 341,689 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 187,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,664 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $59,502,000 after purchasing an additional 70,357 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 751,038 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $52,885,000 after purchasing an additional 87,914 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IMO. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.00.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:IMO opened at $70.32 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.06. The stock has a market cap of $35.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Imperial Oil Limited has a one year low of $60.95 and a one year high of $80.17.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is 25.80%.

Imperial Oil 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.