Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $59.00 at Barclays

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $58.00 to $59.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on WMB. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.36.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $57.38 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $69.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $43.45 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $59.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.26.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,075,340 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,358,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,156 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,770,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680,477 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Williams Companies by 5.6% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,520,491 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,047,025,000 after buying an additional 932,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Williams Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $913,840,000 after buying an additional 54,902 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.