April 30, 2020 - 11:55 AM EDT
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Why Shares of Shell and Chesapeake Tanked on 4/30, but Matador Rallied

Shares of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.B) (NYSE: RDS.A) fell dramatically at the open of trading on April 30, dropping as much as 14% in the first half hour. Chesapeake Energy's (NYSE: CHK) performance was even worse, declining nearly 20%. And then there was relatively small energy producer Matador Resources (NYSE: MTDR), which saw its shares rise as much as 12%. And in each case the dramatic stock moves were related to news flow, only this time around the news wasn't directly related to the ups and downs of oil prices.

Royal Dutch Shell's news was probably the hardest to bear, especially if you are a dividend investor. The European energy giant announced overnight that it was trimming its dividend from $0.94 per American depositary receipt (effectively its U.S. listed shares, each equal to two "ordinary shares") per quarter to $0.32, a 66% cut. Although the move shouldn't have been a total surprise, given the painfully low price of oil and natural gas in the world today, it obviously upset investors. And the stock duly sold off.   

Image source: Getty Images.

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Source: Motley Fool (April 30, 2020 - 11:55 AM EDT)

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