Williams Cos.'s Stock Tumbles On Heavy Volume After Share Offering

Shares of Williams Cos. tumbled 11% in active premarket trade Tuesday, after the natural gas infrastructure company said its stock offering priced at a deep discount and that it would increase its stake in Williams Partners L.P. . Volume topped 6.1 million shares ahead of the open, enough to make the stock the most actively traded in the premarket. Williams said late Monday that its 65 million share offering, which would increase the shares outstanding by 8.7%, priced at $29, or 9.2% below Monday's closing price of $31.93. Williams said it would use the proceeds from the sale to help boost its stake in Williams Partners to 72%. Williams said it would increase its quarterly dividend by 50%, while Williams Partners will cut its quarterly payout by 29%. Williams Partner's stock fell 1.7% before the open. Williams' stock has soared 57% over the past 12 months through Monday, while Williams Partners' shares have run up 65% and the S&P 500 has climbed 18%.