Entropy Technologies LP Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 81,413 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,406,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $55.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The stock has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Williams Companies 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.