The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,450,000 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the October 31st total of 17,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB traded up $0.38 on Friday, reaching $58.52. The company had a trading volume of 3,638,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,555,747. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.30. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $71.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 82,301 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Williams Companies by 48.8% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,533 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 6,409 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 0.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,514 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,346,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $545,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.