Imperial rewards its shareholders

Article Excerpt

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $65 is a buy. This company (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative and Income Growth Portfolios, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 584.2 million; Market cap: $38.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) gets about 90% of its production from oil sands operations in Alberta. Imperial also has conventional oil and natural gas operations in the West and holds stakes in offshore projects in Atlantic Canada. Its other operations include three refineries (one in Alberta, two in Ontario) and a petrochemical plant in Sarnia, Ontario. While oil prices have eased in 2023, Imperial continues to reward investors. With the July 2023 payment, it raised your quarterly dividend by 13.6%, to $0.50 a share from $0.44. The new annual rate of $2.00 yields 3.1%. The company also plans to repurchase up to 5% of its shares by June 28, 2024. Investors should note that parent company ExxonMobil (New York symbol XOM) plans to maintain its 69.6% stake in Imperial. Imperial Oil is…