01-11-2015, 08:05 PM
The thing about that comparison is that there is a high probability of a dividend cut from BP. The current dividend was based upon BP being a much larger company. Many 10's of billions of dollars of assets have been sold to pay for the gulf cleanup and compensation. Today's much smaller company is in the middle of downsizing its work force and further reorganizing to reflect this new reality. I've read that the dividend will likely be adjusted down to reflect the smaller, leaner company as well. BP could very well represent a good investment, but IMO the dividend represents a very weak thesis for buying shares.
Alex