Investors punish Big Oil for cutting dividends

Stock valuations are lacklustre, but spinning off low carbon businesses could reinvigorate share prices

Try as they might to reinvent themselves, the oil majors are still viewed by investors as dividend cash cows. European players that cut shareholder payouts are now blighted by discounted stock valuations despite the recent crude rally. To reinvigorate share prices, oil bosses can either boost dividends or sell off parts of their businesses that are pois…