Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK

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COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Equity [Abstract]  
COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK
The Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 680,000,000 shares.  The shares are classified in two classes, consisting of 675,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share.  The board of directors is authorized to establish one or more series of preferred stock, setting forth the designation of each such series, and fixing the relative rights and preferences of each such series.  The Company has neither designated nor issued any shares of preferred stock.

Common Stock

The following is a schedule of changes in the number of shares of common stock outstanding during the three months ended March 31, 2019 and the year ended December 31, 2018:

(in thousands) Three Months Ended
March 31, 2019		 Year Ended December 31, 2018
Beginning Balance 378,333  66,792 
Repurchases of Common Stock (5,635) (7,360)
Stock Options Exercised - Net —  63 
Restricted Stock Grants 3,160  3,295 
Debt Exchanges —  136,064 
Equity Offerings —  96,926 
Stock Consideration for Acquisitions of Oil and Natural Gas Properties —  83,731 
Contingent Consideration Settlements 1,168  — 
Other Surrenders - Tax Obligations (221) (267)
Other Forfeitures (5) (911)
Ending Balance 376,800  378,333 

2019 Activity

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, 0.2 million shares of common stock were surrendered by certain employees of the Company to cover tax obligations in connection with their restricted stock awards.  The total value of these shares was approximately $0.6 million, which is based on the market prices on the dates the shares were surrendered.

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, 1.2 million shares of common stock were issued by the Company to satisfy contingent consideration owed in connection with the Pivotal Acquisition (see Note 3).
Stock Repurchase Program

In May 2011, the Company’s board of directors approved a stock repurchase program to acquire up to $150.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock.  The stock repurchase program allows the Company to repurchase its shares from time to time in the open market, block transactions and in negotiated transactions.

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company repurchased 5.6 million shares of its common stock under the stock repurchase program at a total cost of $16.3 million, of which $1.2 million was recorded as a settlement of contingent consideration liabilities. During the three months ended March 31, 2018, the Company did not repurchase shares of its common stock under the stock repurchase program.  The Company’s accounting policy upon the repurchase of shares is to deduct its par value from common stock and to reflect any excess of cost over par value as a deduction from Additional Paid-in Capital.