Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $70.00 at UBS Group

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $55.00 to $70.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on WMB. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.54.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded up $0.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,461,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,889,876. The firm has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $57.33.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.