Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) will now cut its dividend even more with a new proposel of 1 cent per share. On March 10, 2020 Occidental had announced a cut to its quarterly dividend 86.1 percent to $0.11 per share, ending a track record of 17 consecutive years of dividend increases by the oil and gas company.

On March 10 Occidental announced a reduction in the company’s quarterly dividend to $0.11 per share from $0.79 per share, effective July 2020. At the time the company commented: “Due to the sharp decline in global commodity prices, we are taking actions that will strengthen our balance sheet and continue to reduce debt,” said Vicki Hollub, Occidental’s President and Chief Executive Officer in the company's press release explaining the dividend cut. “These actions lower our cash flow breakeven level to the low $30s WTI, excluding the benefit of our hedges, positioning us to succeed in a low commodity price environment.”

Now, on May 29, the company has declared a quarterly dividend of just 1 cent per share payable on July 15, 2020, to stockholders of record as of June 15, 2020. Occidental states that this is an update to the company’s previously announced dividend policy change from March 10, 2020, which reduced the quarterly dividend to $0.11 per share. A new annual rate of $0.04 per share yields 0.3% at a stock price of $12.70.

Dividend growth had been slowing to just 1.3 percent annually in the last four years, following double digit hikes announced by Occidental from 2010 to 2014. In 2015 the dividend hike was much lower with a 4.2 percent increase, following by 1.3 percent hikes in the last couple of yours prior to this big cut in 2020. Because of this 98.7 percent dividend cut the annual dividend payment to shareholders will drop to $36 million.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Middle East and Latin America. Occidental’s midstream and marketing segment gathers, processes, transports, stores, purchases and markets hydrocarbons and other commodities. The company’s wholly owned subsidiary OxyChem manufactures and markets basic chemicals and vinyls. Occidental has paid quarterly dividends continuously since 1975.