Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $55.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WMB. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.79.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $58.54 on Tuesday. 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 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $52.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.30. The company has a market capitalization of $71.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Williams Companies by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,631,288,000 after buying an additional 5,697,605 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 20.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,117,298 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $259,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,158 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 224.1% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,334,307 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $60,909,000 after acquiring an additional 922,550 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its stake in Williams Companies by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,989,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $136,461,000 after purchasing an additional 718,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in Williams Companies by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $325,726,000 after purchasing an additional 618,056 shares in the last quarter. 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.