P-E firm Kimmeridge Energy Management releases a new report criticizing high executive compensations by U.S. oil producers in a year that was one of the industry's worst.
The Kimmeridge study says total compensation for CEOs of 27 U.S. oil producers fell 14% in 2020 from 2019, which was just a 1% drop from 2018 levels but share prices were 60% lower in 2020 from 2018.
Short-term incentive payouts as a percentage of the target topped 100% for seven of the 27 companies reviewed, led by CNX Resources (NYSE:CNX), Range Resources (NYSE:RRC), EQT Corp. (NYSE:EQT) and APA Corp. (NASDAQ:APA), according to the report.
While annual bonuses in 2020 were paid below target, the median payout of 95% seemed "unjustifiably" high for a year when the median share price return was a negative 36%, the paper said.