Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Research Coverage Started at Bank of America

Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $55.00 price objective on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. 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. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.46.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $52.36 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.87. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $52.44. The company has a market cap of $63.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Blackstone Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 109.1% during the first quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 6,466,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $252,006,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373,800 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,753,223 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $224,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647,469 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,220,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $817,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 20.1% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.