Imperial is still our top oil stock

Article Excerpt

Oil prices are rising again, but it’s unlikely they will soon match or exceed the record highs they hit in 2008. Over the long-term, we feel the best way for conservative investors to profit from volatile energy prices is with integrated oil producers like Imperial Oil. If oil prices rise, it earns more from crude production. But if oil prices fall, Imperial’s refining and marketing operations, which need crude oil to make gasoline and other fuels, will become more profitable. IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $46 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 848.9 million; Market cap: $39 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s largest integrated oil company. Imperial accounts for about 6% of Canada’s total oil production. U.S.-based ExxonMobil Corp. (New York symbol XOM) owns 69.6% of Imperial’s shares. Imperial gets most of its revenue from its “downstream” businesses. These consist of its four refineries and 1,900 retail gas stations, which operate under the “Esso” banner. Downstream…