Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $54.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target upped by research analysts at CIBC from $45.00 to $54.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. CIBC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.37% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.62.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $52.24 on Tuesday. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $52.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.14. The stock has a market cap of $63.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 108,302 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,221,000 after buying an additional 14,672 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 145.5% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 95,359 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,716,000 after acquiring an additional 56,509 shares in the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $2,364,000. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $1,036,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.