Stone Energy, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company (E&P) headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana drills mainly in the Gulf of Mexico but also has a presence in the Marcellus/Utica Shale with 75,000 acres of leases. Last year Stone quit drilling in the northeast and actually shut-in part of their production due to low prices (see Stone Energy 3Q15: Shut Down 110 Mmcfe/d of Marcellus Production). As we pointed out in April, the company is in financial trouble and inching toward bankruptcy (see Stone Energy Appoints Special Liaison, Inches Toward Bankruptcy?). Earlier this month the New York Stock Exchange threatened the company with de-listing its stock, which would not bode well for a company trying to attract and hold on to investors (see Stone Energy Threatened with De-listing by NYSE). One of the strategies companies use to remain listed on an exchange is to combine together shares of stock, called a reverse stock split. Stone has just announced they will do a 1-for-10 reverse split–meaning an investor who owns 10 shares will see those 10 shares magically combined into a single share…
