STOCKCHASE

People's interests have been more into exploration companies than the big integrateds. Prefers Suncor (SU-T). No real catalyst with this. Have the Kearl project coming but that is a ways out. (See Top Picks.)

2010-07-09

PAST TOP PICK

39.950

(A Top Pick June 24/09. Down 8.2%.) Doesn't own any more but it is getting interesting. Wait 6-7 months before stepping into it.

2010-05-28

DON'T BUY

41.510

Rick Stuchberry

No fundamental problem with this company except that it hasn't improved its dividend in quite some time. Doesn't know of any compelling reason to own this one.

2010-05-14

DON'T BUY

40.660

Like the other integrated oils globally, hasn't been a great performer in the last several years. Very dependent on heavy oil and the spread between heavy and light sweet oil has widened. Also don't have any great exploration going on. (See Top Picks.)

2010-05-05

PAST TOP PICK

43.030

(A Top Pick May 13/09. Up 5.3%.) This is a longer-term call on the Kearl project. Still a Buy.

2010-04-23

Comment

41.390

If your timeframe is 3 or 4 years, then this is a hold. If your timeframe is less than a year, you shouldn't hold it. Eventually they are going to commission Kearl, their oil sands project and this will be a catalyst for it to move up.

2010-04-16

TOP PICK

41.580

Bill Harris, CFA

One of the most profitable companies. It’s been incredibly expensive but got cheaper with this little correction we had but did not rally back. Just hold it and let it compound for the rest of you life.

2010-04-13

SELL

40.950

Not a fan of this one. Doesn't seem to have the exploration potential that others have. Refining and marketing have been virtually profitless. (See Top Picks.)

2010-04-06

SELL

39.210

Been an under performer. Suffering from refining and marketing side. Margins are very thin. Prefers Suncor because of synergies from merger. There’s no catalyst with IMO.

2010-03-09

DON'T BUY

38.750

Not is favorite stock. It fell below its 200 day moving average. Trying to find support at about $38. If you own it, be careful if it breaks below $38. Other oil stocks look better.

2010-03-02

DON'T BUY

38.750

Christine Poole

Well-established operator but she would not make the switch into this one.

2010-02-26

SELL

40.100

If a stock can’t rally in a rip roaring bull market then there is something wrong.

2010-02-19

DON'T BUY

40.150

One should not buy oil and gas on the speculation that they might be taken out. It should have happened when these things were crushed on price. IMO always sells at a premium because of assets they own. Very well run company, but it is expensive.

2009-12-22

DON'T BUY

39.760

Stan Wong

He would prefer material more so than energy.

2009-12-17

PAST TOP PICK

39.610

(A Top Pick Jan 22/09. Up 1.5%.) This has disappointed on refining margins but the asset growth they have over the next 3-5 years is substantial. Still a buy.

2009-12-14

TOP PICK

39.150

One of the best operators in general. Incredible profitability with a pristine balance sheet. Doesn't think investors are seeing the possible growth from Kearl and Cold Lake, which should be as early as next year.

2009-12-11

BUY

39.950

Barry Schwarrtz

An interesting one here; great collection of assets; many, many years of reserves. Would buy and hold long term.

2009-12-02

WAIT

41.300

Laura Lau

Very good defensive stock if you think oil is going to go down. Their growth will be in their Kearl project in 2011-2012. Less than 1% yield.

2009-11-18

BUY

41.050

Bill Harris, CFA

In a hot oil market it will not do well. No debt, low cost producer. Makes incredible amounts of money.

2009-11-10

PAST TOP PICK

40.490

(A Top Pick Dec 4/08. Up 11.4%.) Not one of the oils that he favours right now because it is meandering and below the 200 day moving average. It could drop even further.

2009-11-05

BUY

39.930

Mason Granger

At a pretty critical point in the broad markets in general so he is defensive and has cut his position back a little. A good buy under $40. Excellent track record of delivering value. Excellent balance sheet and fantastic asset base.

2009-11-03

BUY

39.930

Paul Harris, CFA

Likes it. It’s a boring company. They have good assets and will continue to do well. Does not go up and down as much as oil. It’s a well-run boring company. Will grow slowly over a period of time. It is a core holding.

2009-11-03

BUY on WEAKNESS

40.230

Steven Conville

Likes the stock but by virtue of market sentiment you'll be able to pick it up a little cheaper. Great fundamentals, great balance sheet.

2009-10-02

HOLD

41.210

Alexander Lane, B Comm, C

(Market Call Minute.) Solid, solid company.

2009-09-28

BUY

41.340

If you are looking for a great long-term stock, this has one of the best records in the oil patch. Very well run. Have a growth path that is looking pretty good. Building the Kearl project, and integrated oil sands project. He would slightly prefer Suncor (SU-T) but you can't go wrong with either one. A long-term play. 1% yield.

2009-09-21

BUY

40.460

Turned a corner and he likes what he sees than what he saw in the past. Had been reinvesting a small amount of their cash flow mostly into the Cold Lake area for heavy oil extraction. Announced the Kearl project, which is very exciting and will have good economic return for them. This will increase their production substantially. Likes it for a slow, steady hold.

2009-09-18

BUY

42.430

Steve Carlin

Has some good upside potential. It's about the execution of their long life assets. Good growth profile over the next few years. Great internal rates of return.

2009-09-16

WAIT

39.420

Rick Stuchberry

Oils have had a nice move and he would be inclined to let it firm and show a bit of strength on the upside. Only 1% yield. Entering in the shoulder season on oil. Good company with great assets.

2009-08-27

BUY

39.420

Nick Majendie

One of the class acts in the integrated space. Tremendous converters of capital to cash flow and profit. Average annual returns over the last 25 years has been above 13% a year including dividends and capital gains.

2009-08-27

BUY

39.560

(Market Call Minute.) He is warm to the oils and this is a good name to own.

2009-08-24

BUY

38.800

Andrew McCreath

His partners like the long-term projects. Stock was under pressure recently because of bad results. Sees a lot of growth

2009-08-18

DON'T BUY

38.660

Steven Conville

(Market Minute) Lagged the market.

2009-08-17

TOP PICK

43.150

Bill Harris, CFA

Think they can get Kearl oil sands costs in the $20's. Incredibly disciplined people. Looking for an annual ROI of about 10%. Yield of 0.93%.

2009-07-31

TOP PICK

45.120

Lyle Stein

Coming out of the bottom, large-cap stocks tend to move. Likes reserves they have in the ground. Loves the financial discipline. Balance sheet is clean and they consistently buy back shares. Very good employers of capital. Owner is Exxon (XOM-N) who is always there if anything goes wrong. Would be a buyer up to $46.

2009-06-30

TOP PICK

43.540

Kearl oil sands project has been sanctioned. In a market that’s very choppy and volatile you want quality.

2009-06-24

PARTIAL BUY

43.600

Jeff Parent

Downward momentum is slowing on the 200 day moving average and there is some short-term upward momentum. Also the shorter term moving averages are starting to come up. Forming a bit of a consolidation giving it the potential to break up nicely. MACD is also positive. Use a $40 stop. If you buy just take a small position.

2009-06-23

BUY

44.100

Peter Brieger

No debt. Lots of cash to expand if they wish and think they will and are in the oil sands. There could also be modest dividend increases. Has one of the best collection of brain power in the industry.

2009-06-16

BUY

46.700

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

Overhang on this is the parent company and is generally considered to be a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil (XOM-N). Doesn't get its due recognition. Has an incredible work with technology and have done incredible work in the oil sands’ discovery and processing.

2009-06-11

BUY

44.180

Rick Stuchberry

Just announced they are going ahead with the Kearl project. Good quality company with very good properties. Thinks oil will go from $60 to $70 in the next little while and this company will be a big beneficiary.

2009-05-28

BUY

40.660

Looks pretty constructive based on their Kearl project. He prefers the PetroCan (PCA-T)/Suncor (SU-T) combination as his key Canadian integrated.

2009-05-15

TOP PICK

41.000

They will announce the go-ahead of the Kearl project, which will be a material growth aspect for them. Hopefully that will be recognized in the marketplace.

2009-05-14

SELL

44.700

Joanne A. Hruska, CFA

Sold this week because valuation compared to piers became higher. May get back in.

2009-04-15

DON'T BUY

45.900

David Cockfield

(Market Call Minute.) Bit boring. You can go elsewhere in the oil patch and get better value.

2009-04-09

SELL

47.430

Joseph Schachter

(Market Call Minute.) Not a fan because they are not growing their production.

2009-04-06

TOP PICK

47.200

Peter Gibson

Typically when you come to the end of these panics stimulus takes place. Oil comes off from very low levels and recovers nicely. This one has ROE levels of 43%.

2009-04-03

TOP PICK

38.040

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

Fantastic capital allocators and have a clean balance sheet. Although dividend yield is low, they buy back 5% of the stock each year, which supports the share price. The option value on this is bitumen accrual and the frontier gas Mackenzie Delta.

2009-02-24

Comment

38.230

Looks like it is holding in at around $38. He would recommend a stop of around $35-$36. Stock is trying to get above the 50-day moving average of $46. Relative strength indicates it is neither overbought nor oversold. Any uptick in demand should do well for this sector.

2009-02-17

DON'T BUY

39.000

Peter Gibson

Profitability is now falling quite rapidly. Reporting one of the fastest profit declines.

2009-02-04

TOP PICK

38.950

They are renown for their balance sheets management, consistently increasing its dividend and returning capital to shareholders through share repurchases. 1% yield. Buying it for capital appreciation. If the Mackenzie pipeline goes ahead, they have the largest gas reserves in the Mackenzie Delta, which is not on their reserve report yet.

2009-01-22

BUY

38.000

Jennifer Stevenson

Super high-quality company and assets. Very clean balance sheet. Very defensive holding.

2009-01-20

DON'T BUY

38.130

David Cockfield

Has performed extremely well in this market but looks very expensive. P/E is significantly higher than some of its peers. Would rather go with one of the other integrateds. (See Top Picks.)

2008-12-05

TOP PICK

36.600

There are some stocks that are now making bases and this one has been base building since Sept. early Oct. Gone above its 50-day moving average. Could rally to around $50. Use a stoploss of around $30.

2008-12-04

DON'T BUY

39.400

The first 3 quarters are pretty good. Not one of his favourites because they have a low reinvestment program. Buy back stocks instead of reinvesting in the oils.

2008-11-10

BUY

36.660

Can’t believe how cheap it is.

2008-10-14

DON'T BUY

35.120

Don Lato

Came down with the rest of the oils. Imperial usually hold up well when others go down, but didn’t this time. There are better places to be in the oil stocks.

2008-10-08

HOLD

43.570

Bruce Campbell

Not his favorite. Would buy almost anything else on the oil side.

2008-09-29

BUY

43.570

Paul Harris, CFA

Likes it. Good refining assets. There is not enough capacity in refining and they have it. Oil has to fall if we are in a recession.

2008-09-29

DON'T BUY

48.840

Predominantly a heavy oil producer. Not his favourite major.

2008-07-18

DON'T BUY

52.140

Would prefer to be in exploration/development rather than the integrateds.

2008-07-11

BUY

56.080

Pat McKeough

Integrated oil, so is not just producing but is also selling and refining. Has lots of assets that it acquired many years ago at lower prices. And attractive Buy.

2008-06-20

BUY

57.790

(Market Call Minute.) Conservative but great returns.

2008-06-16

DON'T BUY

56.680

Into a very controversial environmental issue. Had 2 setbacks this week. Delay in the Mackenzie Valley pipeline and this will be a lot longer to ever get done. Also denied a permit from the fisheries Department for water, which will delay their Kearl project. Not a favourite.

2008-05-16

TOP PICK

54.800

Starting to break out. Around $55 would be a major breakout.

2008-04-08

HOLD

53.740

Jeff Parent

Chart shows a nice upward channel. If it were to break into a new high, that would put it into the $58/$59 range which would be a good increase. Long-term chart shows a long-term upward trend. Thinks this will continue.

2008-04-02

HOLD

55.600

Kenneth P. Norquay, CMT

In an uptrend and has broken through new highs in the short term. The $48.50 .would be your stoploss.

2008-03-11

DON'T BUY

57.240

The steady Eddie of the group. Very seldom do they disappoint but it is priced for that. Expect it to do fairly well going forward. Not cheap.

2008-03-05

DON'T BUY

50.250

Brendan Caldwell

This company has limitations on what it can do. It is entirely focused on Canada. With energy prices, you would have thought would have done better over the last year or so. Prefers something more international.

2008-02-01

HOLD

48.330

Joseph Schachter

If he is right about the natural gas prices recovering and the material breach of $100 in oil, they will punch through their July/Aug highs, north of $55.

2008-01-24

BUY

54.450

Gavin Graham

(Market Call Minute.) Last of the integrateds that is owned by a major. You have to wonder if Exxon Mobil won't be looking at taking them over.

2008-01-02

Comment

54.620

Bruce Campbell

Would prefer Suncor (SU-T), which would give better growth.

2007-12-31

Comment

51.600

Robert Floyd

A “steady as you go” scenario. Very good operator. Have refinery operations as well as exploration and development. Should have decent upside.

2007-12-11

TOP PICK

51.960

Could also have picked Suncor (SU-T), CNQ (CNQ-T) or many of the other energies. This stock just had a major breakout and these are the stocks that are going to do well in 2008. $48 should be a major support level.

2007-11-23

HOLD

50.000

Canada locked by nature. Impacted somewhat by royalty regime. Extremely well run. Would hold if owned.

2007-10-26

DON'T BUY

46.450

Brian Acker, CA

His model price is $46.78, which is right on the current stock price.

2007-10-10

DON'T BUY

49.010

Expects this will stay fairly flattish, maybe up 5% to 10%. Their problem is growth. A fair amount of their production is in Western Canada, which is in decline. Well managed. Not a cheap stock. Would prefer Talisman (TLM-T) or Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ-T).

2007-09-26

VAGUE

49.010

David Baskin

Probably undervalued at this price. Don’t know where growth will come from.

2007-09-26

HOLD

46.800

Joseph Schachter

Have not seen much growth in production volumes. He prefers exploration/production companies. For a larger, conservative name, you are getting a bit of a dividend. Well-run company. Could eventually be taken over by its parent Exxon (XOM-N).

2007-09-11

BUY

45.200

Chris Smith

Likes the integrated oil companies. A good solid company to hold. They buy back stock regularly. Well run.

2007-08-30

BUY

43.290

Jeff Parent

Trading right at support level, which is always a positive sign. Has the potential to go back up to the $50 level. On the downside, use a tight stop of $42. Would suggest buying call options, which will limit your downside. This one will have actively trading call options.

2007-08-15

PARTIAL BUY

43.030

Rob Callander

He is more positively inclined towards oil in the short term. This stock would be a core holding in portfolios. Buy in stages.

2007-08-14

BUY

44.550

The stock broke out about 6/8 weeks ago and has recently pulled back to the breakout point. Feels it has good technical support in here. Exxon (XOM-N) is raising cash and could be making a move on Syncrude of which Imperial oil is a part of.

2007-08-09

BUY

49.680

David Driscoll

Large integrated oil company. Owned by Exxon in the US. There is always the chance that the parent will take out the company. If you like the long-term opportunity for oil sands, this is a safer way to play.

2007-06-22

HOLD

50.500

Robert Floyd

Price appreciation is going to change on the overall outlook for energy. Do a fairly decent job on their operations. Numbers were relatively strong on the last quarterly report.

2007-05-30

SELL

49.990

Has had a spike and he does not know the reason for this. If he owned it, he would take some of the money off the table.

2007-05-28

DON'T BUY

49.800

Brian Acker, CA

Has always traded above his model price. His model price is $46.66, which is a negative 6% differential.

2007-05-24

Comment

50.850

Laura Wallace

Great quarterly results. Good refining exposure. If you own, consider taking some profits.

2007-05-23

BUY

49.990

Prefers Petro Canada (PCA-T) because of their international exposure. With marketing/refining margins as strong as they are, and being the largest in Canada, they're benefiting from this.

2007-05-18

Comment

44.440

Peter Brieger

Has a great store of value. He tends to go for companies where he can avoid the risk of downstream companies. Prefers Encana (ECA-T), Talisman (TLM-T) and CNQ (CNQ-T).

2007-04-18

BUY

39.730

Paul Harris, CFA

Spending a lot of money on the pipeline, but this, historically, has been a well run company. Generates tons of free cash flow. Good long-term hold.

2007-03-16

DON'T BUY

42.450

Brendan Caldwell

The charts on integrateds look really ugly and he doesn't see them turning around anytime soon. A shortage of gasoline hasn't had any effect on stocks.

2007-02-27

DON'T BUY

42.050

David Cockfield

A dull stock. If you want to buy one of the integrateds, buy Husky (HSE-T) or Petro Canada (PCA-T).

2007-02-23

Comment

42.500