Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WMB. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $57.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $42.79 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $59.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.27.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 27.5% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $24,081,000 after acquiring an additional 87,031 shares in the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 14.0% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,130,000 after acquiring an additional 10,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $977,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.