Magnum Hunter shares fall on PWC dismissal
Magnum Hunter shares tumble on dismissal of PricewaterhouseCoopers as its accounting firm
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. lost about a quarter of their value Wednesday, after the oil and gas producer said it dismissed its accounting firm.
THE STOCK: Magnum Hunter said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday that it dismissed PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as its independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2012, effective immediately.
THE BIG PICTURE: Houston-based Magnum Hunter said in the filing that PricewaterhouseCoopers identified what it thought were problems with the company's financial controls.
But Magnum Hunter said that it believes its financial statements are accurate and the concerns mainly stemmed from the company's rapid growth. It added that it continues to address the issues by expanding and upgrading the personnel in its accounting department and by hiring an accounting firm to help it complete its annual report for the year ended Dec. 31.
THE SHARES: Down 72 cents, or 21.7 percent, to $2.60 after dropping as low as $2.43 earlier in the day to the stock's lowest price in more than three years.
