IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $43 - Toronto symbol IMO

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $43 (Toronto symbol IMO;Conservative Growth Portfolio; Resources sector;Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $36.4billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.1%;TSI Network Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca)reported that its third quarter earnings jumped21.1%, to $1.0 billion, or $1.22 a share. A year earlier, it earned $859 million, or $1.01 a share.Cash flow per share rose 18.8%, to $1.52 from$1.28, while revenue gained 4.9%, to $8.3 billion from $7.9 billion.

Overall production fell 3.7%, to 285,000 barrels a day from 296,000 a year earlier, due to asset sales and maintenance shutdowns. However, earnings from oil refining and distribution (52% of the total)rose 97.1%.

The company will soon start up its 71%-owned Kearl oil sands project, which will increase its daily production by 78,100 barrels. Exxon Mobil Corp.(New York symbol XOM) owns the remaining29%. Exxon also owns 69.6% of Imperial.

Imperial probably earned $4.12 a share in 2012.The stock trades at 10.4 times that figure. It also trades at 8.1 times the company’s cash flow of$5.33 a share. The $0.48 dividend yields 1.1%.

Imperial Oil is a buy.

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