IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $48 - Toronto symbol IMO

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $48 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $40.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) has resumed production at its Kearl oil sands project in northern Alberta.

The company was forced to shut down Kearl due to problems with a machine that separates heavy oil from sand. In the third quarter, Kearl supplied 30% of Imperial’s daily output of 307,000 barrels.

The recent oil-price drop has cut the stock’s price by 17.2% from its August 2014 peak of $58. However, low crude prices will benefit Imperial’s refining and petrochemical operations, which supplied 43% of its earnings in the latest quarter. The company may also take advantage of low prices to pick up new properties at a bargain.

Imperial Oil is a buy.

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