Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Stock Position Lifted by HF Advisory Group LLC

HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 206.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,103 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,680 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 630 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $71.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.63. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.58 and a 12-month high of $76.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.43.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 98.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.24, for a total value of $150,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 291,159 shares in the company, valued at $21,906,803.16. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,369 shares of company stock worth $3,769,012. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.07.

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.