Dividend hikes are only part of their appeal

Article Excerpt

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $33.93 (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares outstanding: 764.2 million; Market cap: $26.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.6%; www.imperialoil.ca) is Canada’s third-largest publicly traded oil company, after Suncor (No. 1) and Canadian Natural Resources. U.S.-based ExxonMobil (New York symbol XOM) owns 69.6% of Imperial. In the quarter ended June 30, 2019, Imperial produced an average of 400,000 barrels a day, up 19.0% from 336,000 a year earlier. However, lower volumes at its refineries cut revenue by 3.0%, to $9.26 billion from $9.54 billion. Cash flow per share jumped 108.6% in the latest quarter, to $1.46 a share from $0.70. The gains were mostly due to the increased production and both higher oil prices and lower taxes. Imperial’s strong balance sheet will let it keep investing in new projects. As of June 30, 2019, its total debt was $5.2 billion, or a moderate 20% of its market cap. The company also held cash of $1.09 billion. Starting with the July 2019 payment,…