Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $85.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target upped by Scotiabank from $84.00 to $85.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector outperform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.07.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $71.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.53. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $76.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.43. The company has a market capitalization of $87.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 98.13%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $547,807.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at $1,938,231.45. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.15, for a total value of $211,988.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 31,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,323,682.90. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,769,012. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.