Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $63.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 14.17% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on WMB. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.21.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $56.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.53. Williams Companies has a twelve month low of $34.54 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $69.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $575,103,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,631,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,605 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,025,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $190,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its position in Williams Companies by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $273,587,000 after buying an additional 2,065,906 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.