Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Price

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target increased by Barclays from $46.00 to $56.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $55.61 on Friday. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The firm has a market cap of $67.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,631,288,000 after buying an additional 5,697,605 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 224.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,334,307 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $60,909,000 after purchasing an additional 922,550 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,989,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $136,461,000 after purchasing an additional 718,915 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,398,004,000 after purchasing an additional 520,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 2,097,941 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $95,771,000 after purchasing an additional 443,423 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.