Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $63.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.71.

Williams Companies Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $1.45 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.15. 2,008,938 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,565,155. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.89. The firm has a market cap of $68.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $35.74 and a 52-week high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,800 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 7,113 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,029,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $266,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.