Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 14.53% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Tudor Pickering raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Mizuho raised Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, January 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.36.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,025,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,957,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $85.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.55. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $71.58.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total transaction of $132,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 293,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,488,452.55. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 104.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and record results — Williams reported Q4 revenue of ~$3.2B (above forecasts) and described 2025 as a year of record results, reinforcing the company’s cash-generation and growth profile. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: 2026 profit outlook tied to projects — Management said 2026 profit should rise as new pipeline and offshore projects come online, supporting midstream growth and longer-term cash flow visibility. Reuters: Williams sees higher 2026 profit
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic push into fueling AI/data centers — Williams is evaluating upstream gas assets to provide integrated fuel solutions for hyperscalers, which could increase contracted volumes and vertical integration opportunities if pursued. Zacks: explores upstream gas assets
• Neutral Sentiment: FY-2026 guidance roughly in line — Williams set EPS guidance of $2.20–$2.38 (consensus ~2.28), a range that broadly aligns with Street expectations but leaves room for execution risk around project timing. Seeking Alpha summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment supportive but stock appears stretched — Multiple buy/overweight ratings and a median price target near $70 (Jefferies $76) support the rally, though technicals show WMB trading above key moving averages. Yahoo: analyst/valuation note
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and mixed headline — Adjusted Q4 EPS came in about $0.55, a few cents below consensus, which can temper upside despite the revenue beat. Zacks: misses Q4 EPS
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put buying — Traders bought ~16,500 put options (≈112% above average daily put volume), signaling hedging or near-term bearish positioning that could pressure shares if volatility rises. (Options flow report)
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling — Filings show insiders sold shares over the past six months, which investors may view as a mild negative signal on near-term confidence. Quiver Quant: Q4 summary and insider activity

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.