Out Fox The $treet

The stock price continues plunging ahead of the finalization of the merger with ETE. The deal complexity and required cash portion of the transaction were signals to avoid the stock. Williams doesn't trade at enough of a discount to warrant owning the stock prior to the merger closing in early 2016. The energy sector, and especially the infrastructure space, is in the midst of a massive collapse. One stock caught up in the carnage is Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB ), with the stock down 13% on Monday and nearly $10 in the previous four trading days before a rebound on Tuesday. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Williams finally issues Q3 dividend amount. The company hasn't answered the long-term questions surrounding the impact of the fee cuts. The stock remains difficult to own until more questions are resolved. As the market was closing for the week, Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB ) left shareholders in the dark regarding the upcoming dividend and the strategic alternatives resolution. In Williams: Negative Implications Of Chesapeake Deal , the research highlighted some of the issues with the fee cuts from the Chesapeake Energy ( CK ) deal. Long after the market closed on Friday, the company and market news sources provided some more information. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Williams agrees to fee cuts for higher volumes from Chesapeake Energy. The auction process for the company remains in limbo placing the positive merger with Williams Partners and the promised higher dividends on hold. The uncertainty around Williams makes the stock difficult to own despite the collapsing price. In possibly a somewhat surprising move, Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB ) subsidiary Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ ) agreed to lower the gathering and processing costs for Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK ) for higher future volumes. The move is rare for the MLP sector and has some troubling implications despite the signaling by Williams that the move is a win-win for both parties. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Williams rejects unsolicited bid for $64 and plans to explore strategic alternatives. Energy Transfer Equity proposes that a merger with Williams will provide a higher dividend and growth. The lack of details from Energy Transfer Equity makes it difficult to understand how it can propose a higher dividend after shifting to a C corp. The proposed offering doesn't provide much of a premium to where Williams likely trades in 2016 as a standalone stock. On the headlines only, it is initially difficult to see how a $48 stock could turn down a $64 offer. In the case of Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB ) , the executives did just that. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

On the back of a nearly 25% gain following the ( NYSE: WMB     ) proposed deal to acquire parts of Access Midstream Partners L.P. ( NYSE: ACMP     ) it doesn't already own and merge them with Williams Partners L.P. ( NYSE: WPZ     ) ,  Williams Companies  ( NYSE: WMB     ) investors have to wonder if the deal was really that good. The deal is naturally interesting in that it provides Williams with access to the rapidly growing infrastructure needs in most of the primary shale plays. On the back of the deal, Williams proposes increasing the third quarter dividend by an astonishing 32% to an annualized rate of $2.24, providing the impetus for the stock gains. The company quickly rushed out to sell stock to pay for the deal, further suggesting that its stock rose too fast. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

The news came out last Friday that activists had raised their stake in Williams Companies ( NYSE: WMB     ) . The activist firms of Corvex Management and Soroban Capital Partners had previously claimed a 5% position back in Dec. in hopes of pushing the large pipeline operator into consolidating the industry to spur growth. The firms are so adamant that Williams has more potential that combined they've spent an astronomical $2.5 billion to build a near 10% position. The firms spent the previous week amassing around 1.2 million shares per day with limited impact to the stock. From a potential investor's standpoint, what strikes an interesting cord is that Williams doesn't appear to offer much value from the outside. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the full disclaimer page for more details.