Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.5625.

WMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams Companies from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $75.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $91.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.27 and a 200-day moving average of $71.79. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $55.82 and a fifty-two week high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 92.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.16, for a total value of $148,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 283,159 shares in the company, valued at $20,999,071.44. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655 over the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Williams Companies by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,153 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.