OREANDA-NEWS. On April 09, 2009  Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov said at a press conference on that Lukoil could allocate 15% of its 2008 US GAAP net income to dividend, reported the press-centre of OTKRITIE FC.

View Thus, Lukoil could maintain its payout ratio and pay out a dividend of US1.61 (RUB47.35) per share. If so, the company would raise dividend by 13% YoY, whereas state-owned corporations are mulling dividend reduction. Lukoil’s dividend yield could amount to 3.3%.

This figure is lower than the expected dividend yield of Surgutneftegaz’s ordinary shares (4%), but higher that Rosneft’s ratio (1%).

Valuation and action Lukoil’s P/E is equal to 2.8x, and the stock trades at a 41% discount on P/E to the rest of the energy sector. The news could be marginally positive for the stock price in the short-run. Our long-term target price for Lukoil’s is under review.