Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $76.45 and last traded at $76.2760, with a volume of 773149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.36.

Williams Companies Trading Up 2.4%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.35 and a 200-day moving average of $61.83. The company has a market cap of $93.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.77, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.53.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,699.30. This represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total value of $1,968,840.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 293,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,377,154.28. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,107 shares of company stock valued at $2,982,535. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 5.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6.7% in the second quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 32,716 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,055,000 after buying an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.8% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 46,225 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,903,000 after buying an additional 2,109 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.9% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 14,961 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.