The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.07.

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,514 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

WMB opened at $56.85 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.76 and a 200-day moving average of $46.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.05. 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 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $60.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.