The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

by · The Cerbat Gem

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB – Get Free Report) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.07.

Several research firms have weighed in on WMB. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Williams Companies

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of WMB opened at $54.12 on Thursday. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $60.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $65.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

Read More