Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $71.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $70.00 to $71.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho upgraded Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.29.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock opened at $60.31 on Friday. Williams Companies has a 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $65.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $73.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $59.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.69.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 103.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $242,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 302,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,319,101.85. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 102,987 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,155,000 after acquiring an additional 29,780 shares during the period. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $564,000. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $570,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.