Gazprom's stock hit a three-year low, making it one of the cheapest oil and gas companies in the world. ?
The company's shares fell Tuesday but rose 2.8 percent Wednesday on? the Moscow Exchange, closing at 137.18 rubles ($4.56) and sending the? state-owned giant's capitalization to? $108 billion.
The company's share price has tumbled almost 30 percent in? a year, analysts at? UBS said. For? comparison, ExxonMobil is valued at? $406.4 billion, Petrochina at? $330.1 billion and? Shell at? $262.5 billion, Vedomosti reported.
Analysts attributed the? sharp decline in? part to? market nervousness about ballooning capital expenditures. The? company originally planned to? spend $777 billion in? 2012, but it confirmed outlays of? $975 billion in? October.
More important, however, are falling dividends, said UBS analyst Konstantin Cherepanov. Gazprom paid out 166 to? 189 billion rubles, or about 7 to? 8 rubles per share, in? 2012, down from? a record 212 billion rubles in? dividends in? 2011.
Gazprom has been facing difficulties both at? home and? abroad in? recent years, with European clients seeking to? renegotiate long-term supply contracts and? rival Novatek proving an? increasingly aggressive competitor in? the domestic market.
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