Brokerages Set The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) PT at $52.07

Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.07.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.0 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $53.94 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $65.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.05. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. This represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $30,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.