Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $52.85 and last traded at $52.78, with a volume of 584991 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.62.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 102,491 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,679,000 after buying an additional 27,118 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in Williams Companies by 36.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 10,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in Williams Companies by 5.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 47,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354 shares during the period. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 452,406 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $20,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,495 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 26,625 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.