The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Receives $50.38 Consensus PT from Analysts

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.38.

WMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $56.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.57. Williams Companies has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $57.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 153,081 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,988,000 after purchasing an additional 6,199 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.7% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 191,787 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,254 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 60,626 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 10.1% during the third quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,630 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.5% during the third quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 13,571 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Company 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.