NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of oil company Energy XXI (EXXI) were falling 4.1% to $3.51 Thursday as oil prices fell due to the strengthening dollar and record U.S. crude stockpiles.

WTI crude oil for April delivery was down 2.1% to $43.72 a barrel early Thursday afternoon and Brent crude oil for May delivery was down 1.9% to $54.86 a barrel.

Oil prices gained Wednesday afternoon as the U.S. dollar weakened against other currencies following statements from Federal Reserve, but were falling again on Thursday as the dollar regained strength, according to the Wall Street Journal. Oil is priced in dollars, which makes it less attractive to those using foreign currencies when the dollar is stronger.

On Wednesday the Energy Information Administration said that U.S. oil inventories grew by 9.6 million barrels to a total of 458.5 million barrels. U.S. crude oil inventories are currently at their highest level in the last 80 years, according to the agency.

TheStreet Ratings team rates ENERGY XXI LTD as a Sell with a ratings score of D+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate ENERGY XXI LTD (EXXI) a SELL. This is driven by a few notable weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its feeble growth in its earnings per share, deteriorating net income, generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• ENERGY XXI LTD has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share have declined over the last two years. We anticipate that this should continue in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, ENERGY XXI LTD reported lower earnings of $0.61 versus $1.84 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 550.0% in earnings (-$2.75 versus $0.61).
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 3662.4% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $10.50 million to -$373.88 million.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 2.64 and currently higher than the industry average, implying increased risk associated with the management of debt levels within the company. Along with this, the company manages to maintain a quick ratio of 0.49, which clearly demonstrates the inability to cover short-term cash needs.
• Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry and the overall market, ENERGY XXI LTD's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly decreased to -$42.64 million or 127.72% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: EXXI Ratings Report