UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target raised by research analysts at UBS Group from $78.00 to $89.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.38% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on WMB. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Scotiabank raised shares of Williams Companies from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.36.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE WMB traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $72.13. The company had a trading volume of 3,567,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,074,893. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.90 and its 200 day moving average is $60.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $73.04. The company has a market capitalization of $88.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total value of $132,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 293,545 shares in the company, valued at $19,488,452.55. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% in the fourth 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. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Williams Companies

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.