Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Truist Financial

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) was upgraded by equities researchers at Truist Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.1%

WMB opened at $74.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $51.58 and a 52 week high of $76.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.84. The firm has a market cap of $90.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.15, for a total transaction of $211,988.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,323,682.90. This represents a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. The trade was a 36.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 51,369 shares of company stock worth $3,769,012 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 15,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 34,870 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,096,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Betterment LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Williams Companies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New analyst coverage: Truist initiated coverage with a “buy” and an $84 price target (about a mid‑teens upside vs. current levels), which can attract demand from institutional investors and supports the stock. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Growth narrative: CEO Chad Zamarin highlighted rising power demand from data centers and how Williams is positioned to serve that market — a potential multi-year revenue/volume tailwind if Williams secures more data‑center power business. Williams CEO on data center power
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term upside in analyst models: US Capital Advisors’ note includes a FY2028 EPS projection of $2.95 and multi‑year quarterly forecasts that imply accelerating earnings out years, supporting a longer‑term bullish view if the company executes. MarketBeat coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Political/industry context: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed energy executive Alan Armstrong to the U.S. Senate. Armstrong’s background in energy could be supportive for industry policy, but the direct impact on Williams is uncertain and likely limited in the near term. Alan Armstrong Becomes Newest U.S. Senator
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term estimate cuts: US Capital Advisors trimmed several near‑term EPS forecasts (Q2 and Q3 2026 down slightly, and FY2026 lowered to $2.18 from $2.22). Those cuts increase short‑term execution risk and may pressure sentiment until results/visibility improve. MarketBeat coverage

About Williams Companies

Williams Companies, Inc (NYSE: WMB) is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.