Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Scotiabank

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by analysts at Scotiabank in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $51.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 8.29% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:WMB opened at $55.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position 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 buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

About Williams Companies

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.