Cut your oil risk with Imperial

Article Excerpt

Dear client, Oil prices have moved up to $45 U.S. from their January 2016 low of $34. Even so, crude prices are likely to remain volatile over the next year or so. We feel most investors will benefit from keeping about 10% to 15% of their stock portfolios in the resources sector. We also recommend sticking to larger integrated oil producers such as Imperial Oil. It has a long history of adapting to uncertain prices. Low crude prices also enhance the profitability of its large oil refining operations. IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $44 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $37.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) is Canada’s second-largest publicly traded oil company, after Suncor Energy (see page 113). It’s also a 69.6%-owned subsidiary of U.S.-based ExxonMobil (New York symbol XOM). About 90% of Imperial’s crude production comes from its Alberta oil sands operations; they include its 25% stake in the Syncrude project…