Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $52.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $45.00 to $52.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on WMB. Scotiabank increased their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Argus raised Williams Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Williams Companies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.08.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $49.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $60.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $32.63 and a 52 week high of $49.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 62,159 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 102.2% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 865,538 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $39,512,000 after purchasing an additional 437,486 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 248,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,335,000 after purchasing an additional 16,064 shares during the period. Weybosset Research & Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Weybosset Research & Management LLC now owns 207,219 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares during the period. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.