Despite being backed by one of the largest proven reserves and hydrocarbon production globally, Gazprom (OGZPY) stock has traditionally suffered a discount from sub-optimal corporate governance. This looks to be changing - the new dividend policy is a key step toward better aligning interests between controlling and minority shareholders. The announcement of the new dividend policy leaves room for overall dividends to rise considerably, with the linkage to the underlying economic results implying a smoother dividend profile, unaffected by one-offs such as non-operating paper gains and losses.
Yet, the stock looks exceedingly cheap