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

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.5625.

WMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies 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 value of $917,760.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.16, for a total value of $148,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 283,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,999,071.44. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,182,655 over the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $75.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Williams Companies has a 12-month low of $55.82 and a 12-month high of $80.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.57.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

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.