Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WMB. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.86.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $73.13 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $51.58 and a 1 year high of $76.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.59.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.24, for a total value of $150,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 291,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,906,803.16. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,107 shares of company stock valued at $3,009,215. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $29,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 62.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.