Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Small independent oil producer Callon Petroleum Company (CPE) stock shot up more than 11% in early trading, before settling in at about a 9.5% gain.
So what: The company announced today that it had reached an agreement with Lone Star Value Management to expand its board of directors by one seat. This marks a big step between the hedge fund and Callon Petroleum, as Lone Star Value has been challenging the company's strategic moves for more than one year in an attempt to get the company to improve its execution, and to focus more tightly on its Permian Basin assets, and to not use share offerings to raise capital for further acquisitions.
The new board member, Michael L Finch, has a lot of experience as an executive in the oil business, and probably does bring some value to the company's board. According to its most recent SEC filing, Lone Star Value owns about 5% of Callon Petroleum stock, making it a pretty significant stakeholder.
Now what: This is likely a positive for Callon, as it lets the company move beyond a potential contentious showdown between an activist investor and management. Management can now focus on its core business in the Permian and weathering the current oil market storm. While a positive event for the company, it's not really material to its business performance, and the challenges the company faced yesterday are essentially the same today.
As long as oil prices stay down, Callon Petroleum will continue to operate in a tough market.
