Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target to $78.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $69.00 to $78.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 7.90% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.21.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $72.29 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.81. Williams Companies has a 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $72.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total transaction of $132,780.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 293,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,488,452.55. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 15,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 34,870 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Betterment LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 24,611 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,479,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded WMB from “sector perform” to “sector outperform” and raised its price target to $84, signaling stronger conviction and a material upside from recent levels. Scotiabank upgrades Williams Companies (WMB)
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $81 and moved to a “buy” view — another major analyst endorsement that supports further upside and likely helped buying interest. Citigroup raises WMB price target to $81 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus increased its target to $78 and kept a “buy” rating, adding to the cluster of positive analyst revisions and reinforcing expectations for near-term share appreciation. Stifel raises WMB target to $78 (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor/Analyst Day transcript (Seeking Alpha) provided management commentary and strategic detail that investors can use to vet guidance and capital-allocation priorities; such details help underpin analyst re-ratings but are informational rather than immediately catalytic. The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) Analyst/Investor Day Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: A Benzinga retrospective on 10‑year returns is informational for long-term investors but unlikely to move shares materially today. If You Invested $100 In Williams Companies…
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results: Williams slightly missed EPS estimates (reported EPS below consensus) though revenue beat; management flagged 2026 growth capital of $6.1–$6.7B and maintenance capex of $850–$950M — higher near-term spending that could pressure free cash flow and put focus on funding and returns. Williams Companies Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Beat (Zacks)

About Williams Companies

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.