SAC Capital Owns 10% of Forest Oil, Now Largest Shareholder

Updated on

SAC Capital Advisors has increased its stake in Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST) to 9.8 percent according to a SEC Schedule 13G filed on January 30. The firm initially owned 4,647,855 shares of common stock in the Oil and gas company, valued $39,274,374, or approximately 3.93 percent as of September 30, 2012. According to the January 30 filing, SAC now owns 11,589,700 shares of common stock, or 9.8 percent jointly across its investments partners, making the hedge fund the company’s largest shareholder.

SAC Capital Owns 10% of Forest Oil, Now Largest Shareholder

SAC Capital Advisors, LLC was founded by Steven A. Cohen in 1992. The firm is a constituent of hedge funds with assets under management estimated at ~$14 billion. The firm has offices in three major cities including the New York City, Connecticut, and Stamford. SAC Capital is also under investigations for insider trading involving shares of Weight Watchers  International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) and InterMune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITMN), as earlier reported.

The firm’s latest purchase will see Steven A. Cohen beneficiary own 10,914,700 shares or 9.2 percent of Forest Oil via S.A.C. Capital Advisors, L.P., SAC Capital Advisors, Inc., and S.A.C. Capital Associates, LLC. He will also own 675,000 shares or 0.6 percent via CR Intrinsic Investors, LLC bringing a total of 11,589,700 shares. The partnerships will have  a shared voting and disposition power equivalent to the amount of shares held accordingly. None of the partners will have sole voting or disposition power.

SAC Capital Advisors will become one of the top holders in Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST), with other major holders being Vanguard Group, Inc. with a 5.19 percent stake; Kensico Capital Management Corporation, with a 6.59 percent stake and Owl Creek Asset Management, L.P., with a 8.34 percent stake.

Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST) has 115.44 million shares of common stock outstanding, with 96.04 floated. The company is categorized small cap, with a market cap of $803.49 million, but its enterprise value stands just shy of $3 billion, at $2.83B. It’s forward P/E is estimated at 18.32x. The most recent quarter (September 30) cash per share stood at $0.44 while the operating margin is pegged at 14.66 percent.

Forest Oil Corporation engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company faces competition from Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), which soon will wave goodbye to CEO Aubrey McClendon.

Chesapeake is in the process of disposing off assets in a bid to combat cash crunch. Forest Oil also faces competition from Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) and Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) based in Houston and Oklahoma, respectively.

Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST) closed at $6.96 per share on Thursday, January 31.

Leave a Comment