RE:RE:Should payoff debt firstThis stock is still in the penalty box. There were too drastic swings in the value of the company. It was like a casino. Oil prices were a major factor but buying other companies/ assets with debt at the wrong time.
Even when they were paying dividends it did not prevent the stock fo tanking. It became a huge dividend trap for those who did not sell because of the high dividend yield.
Oil is a highly volatile sector you cannot guarantee that the oil prices will not crash. for these tiny oil companies, the fundamentals can change too fast and can fall into a death trap. In the long run, the dividend model has not worked for these tiny companies. It takes them a long time to recover in case there is a collapse in oil prices for a long time. Quite a few did not survive.
When you have debt it is the creditors that are protected and they call the shots. They add conditions that can be detrimental. They are not interested in the survival of the business all they are interested in is recovering their debt. When there is too much debt shareholders get nothing when liquidated.
With little to no debt, the chance is that the performance of share price would be better as the balance sheet will be much healthier. Cash remains on the balance sheet. The discount of carrying debt and its risk will be gone. It is better for me to have a better share price than a tiny dividend that can cause pain for the company in future.
For income, I would go to dividend-paying ETFS or blue chips will a record of 30 yrs of paying dividends. Companies like SGY are speculative play at best.