- Total (NYSE:TOT) CEO Patrick Pouyanne tells investors that the company could start a share buyback program, depending on crude oil prices, once its cash flow can cover the dividend.
- "From 2019 and at $50/bbl, our cash flow could cover our dividend entirely," Pouyanne said today at an annual shareholders meeting in Paris.
- The CEO also said he is not worried about the possible exit of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund on TOT's stock price since any withdrawal would take place over time.
- Separately, T. Rowe Price equity investment chief John Linehan tells Barron's that while he is not particularly bullish on oil, he likes TOT and expects its trading discount vs. Exxon Mobil to narrow.
- “When you look at the majors, it’s the cheapest on a variety of valuation metrics, but when you look at production growth, it’s the highest over the next few years,” Linehan says, adding that TOT thinks it can grow energy production by 5%/year through 2022 vs. Exxon's expected production growth at 1%/year on average over the next three years.