Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,680,000 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the November 15th total of 16,460,000 shares. Currently, 10.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 468,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 37.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Imperial Oil stock traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 43,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,751. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $33.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 1.42. Imperial Oil has a 1-year low of $54.58 and a 1-year high of $80.17.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.4304 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,331,235 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 10,896.4% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 867,174 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $59,135,000 after purchasing an additional 859,288 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,729,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Imperial Oil by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,796,660 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $258,817,000 after purchasing an additional 412,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,420,002 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $311,175,000 after purchasing an additional 341,689 shares during the last quarter. 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.