Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $51.00 to $55.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Williams Companies traded as high as $45.81 and last traded at $45.78, with a volume of 137033 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.53.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WMB. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Argus upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $54.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.01 and a 200-day moving average of $41.25.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.83%.

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.