Oil prices have fallen dramatically this year as the pandemic decimated global oil consumption. Currently Brent crude is trading under $37 for January delivery. With the fall in crude oil prices oil stocks have been crushed well. Most of the foreign exchange-listed oil stocks have plunged by 50% of more as shown in the table below.
In April oil supermajor Shell cuts it dividend for the first time since World War Two. Shell slashed its quarterly dividend to 15 cents from 47 cents. Last week Shell announced it was raising dividend by 4% to 16.65%. Though the increased amount is still far below the original dividend amount, the raising of the dividend is a step in the right direction.
| S.No. | Company | Ticker | Stock price (as of Oct 30, 2020) | Year-to-Date % Change | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transportadora de Gas del Sur | TGS | $4.82 | -32.78% | Argentina |
| 2 | China Petroleum & Chemical | SNP | $39.33 | -34.61% | China |
| 3 | Equinor | EQNR | $12.83 | -35.56% | Norway |
| 4 | PetroChina | PTR | $28.46 | -43.45% | China |
| 5 | China National Offshore Oil-CNOOC | CEO | $92.12 | -44.73% | China |
| 6 | TOTAL | TOT | $30.33 | -45.15% | France |
| 7 | Ecopetrol | EC | $9.25 | -53.66% | Colombia |
| 8 | Eni | E | $13.98 | -54.84% | Italy |
| 9 | Royal Dutch Shell - A | RDS.A | $25.55 | -56.68% | United Kingdom |
| 10 | Petroleo Brasileiro-Petrobras | PBR | $6.63 | -58.41% | Brazil |
| 11 | BP | BP | $15.48 | -58.98% | United Kingdom |
| 12 | Royal Dutch Shell - B | RDS.B | $24.15 | -59.73% | United Kingdom |
| 13 | YPF | YPF | $3.22 | -72.19% | Argentina |
| 14 | Vista Oil & Gas | VIST | $1.99 | -74.65% | Argentina |
| 15 | Sasol | SSL | $5.26 | -75.66% | South Africa |
Source: BNY Mellon
Demand for oil will continue to be depressed until there is some sense of return to normal life. The new lockdowns starting in many European countries this week does not help oil companies. Despite the known uncertainties investors willing to make a bet on oil stocks can consider some of the beaten down stocks.
Disclosure: Long EC
