CIBC Issues Positive Forecast for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Price

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price hoisted by CIBC from $56.00 to $57.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WMB. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.93.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE WMB opened at $56.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $35.74 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.