Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $70.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $55.00 to $70.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WMB. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.3 %

WMB opened at $57.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.03. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $58.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.17.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.