Activist Investor Becker Drapkin Eyes TheKnot.com's Parent Company

Becker Drapkin Management, an activist investor that targets smaller and lesser-known companies has taken a 7.2 percent stake in

XO Group publishes content geared towards couples that are set to get married and plan a family. The company operates TheKnot.com, which the owners claim to be “the Internet's most-trafficked one-stop wedding planning solution.” XO Group survived the dot.com bubble of the 1990s but faces a new breed of competition from sites like

. As such, the company recently hired a former

executive, Michael Steib as CEO in March to bring technology and mobile expertise to the table. Becker Drapkin Management may nominate or recommended candidates to serve on the company's board and make proposals to the company concerning changes in the strategy. XO Group's net income for the full year 2013 fell 33.0 percent to $5.8 million from a year ago as the company spent $10.0 million in strategic acquisitions and investments and $1.0 million in capital expenditures. Becker Drapkin Management believes that shares of XO Group are attractive, despite the fact that shares have trailed other small-cap stocks and the Russell 2000 index over the past five years. Shares of XO Group were trading higher by two percent Tuesday morning.