Guinness Asset Management LTD Reduces Stake in Imperial Oil Limited $IMO

Guinness Asset Management LTD lessened its stake in shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) by 17.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 98,836 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 21,313 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $9,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IMO. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 5.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,218 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,887 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Imperial Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $200,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at $429,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 12.6% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 67,867 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,400,000 after purchasing an additional 7,595 shares during the period. 20.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of IMO opened at $108.32 on Friday. Imperial Oil Limited has a 1 year low of $58.76 and a 1 year high of $111.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.05. The firm has a market cap of $52.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Raymond James Financial lowered Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

Imperial Oil Profile

Imperial Oil (NYSEAMERICAN: IMO) is a Canadian integrated energy company involved in the exploration, production, refining and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Imperial has operated in Canada for well over a century and is one of the country’s long-standing energy firms. The company is majority-owned by Exxon Mobil Corporation, which provides strategic and technical links to global upstream and downstream capabilities.

Imperial’s operations span upstream activities—exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas and oil-sands resources—and downstream operations including refining, manufacturing of fuels and lubricants, petrochemical products, and retail distribution.