Williams Companies Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:WMB)

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 16,519 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 112% compared to the average daily volume of 7,787 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.64.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.42. 5,305,038 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,827,069. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. Williams Companies has a 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $71.58. The stock has a market cap of $84.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.99 and a 200-day moving average of $60.47.

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). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 103.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 293,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,488,452.55. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $498,700. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,963,343 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,052,537,000 after purchasing an additional 883,245 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,586,299 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,077,942,000 after purchasing an additional 6,668,950 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,575,898 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $923,383,000 after buying an additional 158,077 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $747,749,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 190.3% in the second quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $755,490,000 after buying an additional 7,884,730 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets — Jefferies and Mizuho increased their WMB price targets, which can support buying momentum and investor confidence. Jefferies and Mizuho Raise Williams Companies (WMB)
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiative — Williams is evaluating upstream gas assets to supply reliable fuel for AI hyperscale data centers, positioning the company to capture higher-margin, integrated energy services for a fast-growing end market. This is market-relevant optionality beyond regulated pipeline earnings. Williams Explores Upstream Gas Assets to Power AI-Driven Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: Record 2025 results and Analyst Day — Management reported record 2025 financial results and is hosting an analyst-day event, which can reinforce the company narrative, give forward visibility, and potentially reassure investors about execution. Williams Delivers Another Year of Record Results; Company to Host Analyst Day
• Neutral Sentiment: FY-2026 guidance issued — Williams set EPS guidance of $2.20–$2.38 for FY26 (consensus ~ $2.28). The range overlaps consensus, so this is largely neutral: it provides visibility but doesn’t dramatically change the street’s view. (Company guidance announcement)
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy sector tailwinds — Broader market positioning toward energy this year has helped stocks in the sector, creating a favorable macro backdrop for WMB even as individual results vary. Energy Is Leading in 2026—But Are the Oil Majors Cracking? (WMB)
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS missed estimates — WMB reported $0.55 EPS for Q4, below consensus (~$0.57–$0.58), which is a negative near-term catalyst and explains some profit-taking or cautious positioning despite revenue/margin strength year-over-year. Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates Company Press Release

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.