Regal Partners Ltd V.RPL

Uncertainty and Pain

[InvestorSuperfan]

I understand the management at Renegade would want to make sure the decision(s) made after their "strategic review" are the correct ones that maximize shareholder value, they should be given time to get it right, and I applaud them for being upfront about the need for changes. However, their recent NR states "The Board expects to retain a financial advisor to assist with the review." Apparently, no one has been hired to fill this role yet, so it appears the results of the review are not going to be known for a while yet. Meanwhile, I think the hesitation to do what I think most investors know is coming (or should be coming) - a dividend cut (I would suggest dividend elimination) - just leaves everyone suspicious and confused. Does anyone think that a skilled financial advisor or management consultant would recommend maintenance of the current dividend given the debt issue and the need to ramp up production to bring said debt down to manageable levels while fulfilling capex needs and accounting for any delays caused by the break-up season? Yet, in the same NR where they stated they are going to re-assess their strategy, they simultaniously announce the committment to the May dividend in full. As I write this, RPL is down another 5% today while their peers in the small cap O&G dividend space are being embraced by investors: WCP is up about 2.5% and Twin Butte is up about 4.5%. Uncertainty combined with the insistence on maintaining the dividend in spite what I consider an obvious need to at least cut (if not eliminate) it is causing investors to hit the stock hard.