IMO accelerates into 2023

Article Excerpt

IMPERIAL OIL LTD., $62.11, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares o/s: 604.8 million; Market cap: $38.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.8%; www.imperialoil.ca) now plans to spend $1.7 billion on capital upgrades and exploration in 2023. That’s $300 million, or 21.4%, higher than its 2022 spending of $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, the company recently completed its buyback of $1.5 billion of its common shares (about 3.4% of the total). This was Imperial’s second major buyback in 2022. In June, it repurchased $2.5 billion of its shares. Parent company ExxonMobil (New York symbol XOM) tendered a proportional number of shares to keep its stake in Imperial at 69.6%. Stock buybacks reduce shares outstanding. That boosts earnings per share since profit is divided among fewer shares. The higher per-share earnings make the stock more attractive to investors and helps to increase share prices. Imperial Oil is a buy. buy…