The Panic-Proof Portfolio (Stockchase Research) Imperial Oil IMO-T TOP PICK Apr 17, 2025

The old Esso. Great company, but better names to own going forward. If an investor has owned since the 1970s, they've done really well but probably sitting on a heck of a tax liability.

Rock-solid balance sheet. Great long-life assets. Operational excellence. Cashflow-generating machine. Bought back 1/3 of company's shares in last 7-8 years; that will continue. 5-year dividend growth rate is 23% a year. Pricing power. A company that will offset inflation. Yield is 2.5%.

Very well run company. Trading at premium to other energy companies. Safe company with excellent inventory. However, better options out there for investors. 

Oil prices weak recently, generally gets a little firmer coming into winter. Lots of Middle East conflict. US energy producers in general have performed much worse than Canadian, partly because of debate on whether shale can sustain production. 

Longer term, the sector is attractive and these companies will generate a ton of cash and strong dividend growth. Near-term technical questions. He'd love to see price of oil stabilize. It has in last couple of days, but that's geopolitically driven.

The ZEO ETF recently broke out to new highs. In the group, he likes CNQ, IMO and SU.

Good business. Alberta oil sands are low cost, long life, low decline. Refineries. Integrated, with benefit being that it takes the raw edge off commodity price sensitivity. Owns this indirectly through the back door, with an investment in XOM (major shareholder of IMO).

Modestly bullish on oil. Not his first choice, but no quarrels with it either.

Sideways trading range. Reported earnings today. Should not be affected as much by potential US tariffs, as energy may be exempt. Boring, blue chip. He likes energy, and this is a way to play. Yield is 2.9%.

Bought this around $92 with proceeds from CNQ. Attracted to the chart. A swing chart, easy to trade. Hopes it'll go to at least $105 or so, which is when he'd probably sell. Yield is 3%.

Performed very well. Aggressively buying back stock. Trades at a deserved premium. But today he'd prefer CNQ. Good tax-loss candidate. Very strong balance sheet. FCF today is not what it was.