By Nivedita Bhattacharjee
March 14 (Reuters) - After almost three barren years forinvestors who have poured millions into the
Since the beginning of year, 11 companies have promisedbuybacks, with six alone in the past three weeks including DevonEnergy, Hess Corp and Noble Energy Inc.In all, companies have committed to buy back about
The payouts come courtesy of a combination of higher andmore stable oil prices and pressure from investors.
"There was a time when the consensus was that we'd be stuckat around
"There is a disconnect between commodity prices and returnsfrom exploration and production companies."
Before oil started to take a downturn in 2014, energycompanies had spent billions of dollars in exploration and newprojects. When oil fell below
The S&P 500 Energy Index is down about 32 percentsince mid-2014, when oil prices topped
Wall Street finally put its foot down last year https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-oil-record-strategy/rpt-analysis-u-s-shale-investors-still-waiting-on-payoff-from-oil-boom-idINL2N1QC16Y,with investors demanding a shift to dividends and sharebuybacks. Exxon Mobil was punished for ignoring thedemands and focusing on its expansion plans.
"I've seen companies going to
Reacting to market sentiments, Hess and Devon said theywould either buy back
For Hess, the announcement was also a way to avoid askirmish with activist hedge fund Elliott Management ahead ofnominations for its board.
Elliott, which owns more than 6 percent of Hess, hadcriticized the company for "continuing underperformance," butsupported the buy back program earlier this month.
"We believe that repurchasing our shares represents a highlycompelling return opportunity for our shareholders," said HessEnergy Chief Executive Officer John Hess.
As long as oil holds to current prices,companies can afford to keep focusing on shareholder returns,analysts said.
"I think we're likely at the beginning of a theme ... thereis a lot of room to improve in terms of equity," ICON Advisers'Rollingson said.
(Additional reporting by Anirban Paul; Editing by PatrickGraham, Bernard Orr)