Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.4667.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Williams Companies from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $77.77 on Friday. Williams Companies has a one year low of $55.82 and a one year high of $78.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.23 and its 200 day moving average is $66.73. The firm has a market cap of $95.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.11, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.61.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 92.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $3,768,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 115,369 shares of company stock worth $8,618,692 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 15,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 34,870 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.7% in the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 4,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Williams Companies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Williams reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with adjusted EPS topping estimates, and management reaffirmed full-year guidance while also raising its dividend by 5%, reinforcing the company’s income appeal. A Look At Williams Companies (WMB) Valuation After Q1 2026 Beat And New Power Project Announcements
• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus has also turned to Williams’ new power-project announcements and CEO comments about a “unique solution” for lowering utility bills, which may be helping the stock’s growth story. Williams CEO outlines ‘unique solution’ for lowering utility bills
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent valuation comparison with Ultrapar Participacoes (UGP) kept WMB in the spotlight, but it was largely a comparative analysis rather than a clear company-specific catalyst. UGP vs. WMB: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares in an SEC-disclosed transaction, which can sometimes pressure sentiment even though the sale represents only a portion of his holdings. SEC Form 4 filing for Larry C. Larsen

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.