The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Receives $51.79 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.07.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $57.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $53.53 and its 200-day moving average is $46.74. The company has a market cap of $69.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $60.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 84.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,912 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 10,976 shares in the last quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 16.5% during the second quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in Williams Companies by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 217,662 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,448 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $794,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

About Williams Companies

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.