Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.2857.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Citigroup upped their target price on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $242,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 302,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,319,101.85. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $67.21 on Friday. Williams Companies has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $68.27. The company has a market cap of $82.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.00 and a 200-day moving average of $60.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 103.09%.

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.