Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Price

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price raised by Barclays from $59.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, September 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $63.38 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.78 and a 200-day moving average of $58.85. The company has a market capitalization of $77.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $45.24 and a 52 week high of $64.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.Williams Companies’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $497,715 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rydar Equities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $295,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 534,775 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $33,589,000 after buying an additional 3,678 shares during the period. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 373,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $22,898,000 after buying an additional 212,447 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 106,322 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,678,000 after buying an additional 17,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.