19 April 2017
In a note to clients, the US bank cut its stance on BP to ‘neutral’ and chopped its rating for Shell to ‘sell’ after scrutinising recent annual reports
Oil majors BP PLC (LON:BP.) and Royal Dutch ShellPLC (LON:RDSB) both fell back this morning under pressure from comment by Citigroup, which downgraded its ratings for both.
In a note to clients, the US bank cut its stance on BP to ‘neutral’ and chopped its rating for Shell to ‘sell’ after scrutinising recent annual reports.
Citigroup’s analyst said: “Fine-print of 2016 annual reports indicates that most Big Oil companies still believe in 70-80s oil prices longer term.”
They added: “This is not to say companies can’t manage at lower prices (as strategic updates all claim), but does suggest the sweet-spot of financial firepower – and therefore higher returns to shareholders – still requires significant price recovery.
“Further cost take-out looks needed to truly align these businesses to the 50-60s oil price cap that we think is set by US shale.”
Dividend concerns …
The analysts said: “A deepening of structural reforms is surely going to have to address the high cost of dividends that, for the most part, has not yet been reset.”
They added that, in their opinion, BP and Shell “have the biggest questions to answer.”
The analysts concluded: “We think management perseverance will prevent either from cutting dividends in 2017, but we think yields can still expand: RDS due to under-investment concerns and BP due to balance sheet concerns.”
In reaction, BP shares on the FTSE 100 index shed 0.9%, or 4.05p at 448.55p, while Shell B shares were down 1%, or 21p at 2,104p.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
