The Panic-Proof Portfolio (Stockchase Research)Imperial OilIMO.TOPAST TOP PICKDec 09, 2025

The question was where to put one-third of the proceeds in this stock. Imperial Oil hasn't moved as fast as others in the sector. It is a high quality company but you could take 25 to 50 % in profits if overweight and move to materials or US financials. Buy them on the dips.

At the time, they thought the 4-year-cycle reset was going to occur sometime in 2025. That happened from February-April, a very short phase. So this was a stable/defensive pick. 

Still likes it here. Testing the $140 level. If he's correct that energy's going to be a play in the back half of the year and into 2027, he doesn't mind adding exposure here. Looks compelling, longer-term trend is up. He's bullish Canada.

Unbelievable performer. He's bullish on oil for the second half of next year. We have to get past headline risk on Venezuela and Russia-Ukraine and get more confidence that the market's better absorbing barrels we can see with satellites.

Ticks off all the boxes -- size, scale, inventory depth, generating lots of free cashflow and using that to buy back shares. Only challenge is that stock price is already reflecting that. Trading at 10x cashflow with a 5% FCF yield, which is like paying a 50% premium to a name like CVE. Can't see the Buy thesis.

A big, liquid, slow-moving ship. But every stakeholder is happy. Stock's trading at new all-time highs. Assuming things go well in energy, you want to participate. 

But if things get worse than we expect, you have to plan for that and he'd rather own the highest quality securities that are fundamentally sound and look great technically. Sits nicely on risk/reward.

Difficult time, as a lot of people lost their jobs in Calgary. Others were told they can keep their jobs if they move to Edmonton. Tricky for those people.

Oil prices have been weakening over last 2 weeks, and it's affecting everybody. Stock price has more to do with that than with layoffs and restructuring. Leader among the large caps over last year, and that continues. Long term, a great asset. Balance sheet now where they want it. Oil being where it is, can't expect near-term dividend increase. But it will once prices stabilize. Has grown dividend over 20% a year over last 5 years.

$118 is very near-term for a stop (he understands why it was chosen, as that was the most recent low). Give it a wider berth, given the time of year. A logical place would be $114. Structural long-term chart is very bullish. Trades at a premium, but well deserved.

Often overlooked as people focus on SU and CNQ. He doesn't own energy names right now, due to weakness in the oil patch and crude oil prices. Concerns of global slowdown. Chart looks more attractive than many other energy names. Price has moved up since April lows, 200-day MA has been pretty steady. Decent dividend of ~2.4%, looks fairly solid.

A very smart business friend of his told him: "When you buy a natural resource company, you're buying an option on what they have in the ground. You don't know when a commodity bull market will come, but you know there will be one, and you need to know they'll be there when it happens."

Third-lowest-cost major oil producer, and the lowest within Canada. Efficient. Long-life reserves of 25 years. Paying down debt to a level where all cashflow will be returned to shareholders. Dividend grows over 20% a year, which is what you want with a rising cost of living. Find him another oil company that's performed like this in a tough environment.

Good company, but had a great run. At higher end of the range on a long-term chart, but has been range-bound for quite some time. See his Top Picks, which has a name that's less oil-exposed than this one.

(Note the short timeframe.)  Just took profits, and rolled them into natural gas. Chart's broken out, so an investor could choose to stay in the stock. Nothing wrong with the company.

Oil & gas sector has been consolidating. This name is breaking out to new highs, and that's a great tell. 25 years of reserve life. Three separate issuer bids, with another right now. Very high quality. If the commodity cycle goes on, energy will likely participate. These stocks should normally be weak this time of year, but they're making new highs instead; tells you there's lots of upside. His call is for longer-term higher oil prices.

Great company to protect your purchasing power. 30 years of consecutive dividend increases. Yield is 2.55%, with compound annual growth rate of 22% over last 5 years.