Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Price

07 May 2026, 14:13 by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat Gem

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Free Report) had its price target upped by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.24% from the company’s current price.

WMB has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.13.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WMB

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $1.11 on Thursday, hitting $72.66. 2,803,782 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,960,588. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $55.82 and a 12 month high of $77.41.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The firm’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. Analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $3,768,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,254.79. This represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $547,807.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,938,231.45. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 103,369 shares of company stock worth $7,700,932 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,963,343 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,052,537,000 after acquiring an additional 883,245 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 67,981,106 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,086,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,991 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,586,299 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,077,942,000 after acquiring an additional 6,668,950 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 46,053,873 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,768,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,572,067 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,018,017,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314,851 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $87 and reiterated a “buy” rating, implying ~20% upside from current levels. Finviz
Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus increased its target to $83 and maintained a “buy” rating, another analyst vote of confidence that supports upside. Benzinga
Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles cite Williams as a beneficiary of surging natural‑gas demand tied to AI data centers, LNG exports and coal‑to‑gas switching — a structural demand story that underpins higher utilization and long‑term cash flow. Williams Eyes 13% Upside on AI Data Center Boom How Williams Companies Is Cashing in on the AI Power Boom
Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlights Williams’ recent record quarter and follow‑on growth investments (company is “betting big” after results), which supports medium‑term earnings and distribution stability. Williams Companies Bets Big After Record Quarter
Positive Sentiment: Management confirmed operational progress — first phase of the Aristotle pipeline completed to serve new power projects (mentioned on the earnings call/transcript) — reducing project execution risk and supporting future cash flow. Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript Earnings Call Transcript
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage summaries (estimates & ratings) show continued optimism but also note the stock has lagged the broader market — useful context but not a new catalyst. Williams Companies Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
Neutral Sentiment: In broader screens for undervalued names, WMB appears on lists of attractively priced stocks relative to fundamentals — a reminder of longer‑term value but not an immediate price driver. 3 Stocks Estimated To Be Priced Below Intrinsic Value

About Williams Companies

(Get Free Report)

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.