Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $70.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Williams Companies traded as high as $57.83 and last traded at $57.65, with a volume of 2036739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.55.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WMB. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,631,288,000 after acquiring an additional 5,697,605 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,398,004,000 after purchasing an additional 520,663 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 12,670,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $538,482,000 after acquiring an additional 144,713 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,648,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $410,064,000 after buying an additional 311,530 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $325,726,000 after buying an additional 618,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $71.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.31.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

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.