Melius Research Begins Coverage on Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Melius Research initiated coverage of Williams Companies with a “buy” rating and an $84 price target, implying approximately 17.17% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Williams has an overall consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.56, based on three Strong Buy, 16 Buy, and two Hold ratings.
• Williams reported quarterly revenue of $3.05 billion, up 9.8% year over year, while matching analyst expectations with earnings of $0.50 per share. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company, while insiders sold 19,000 shares over the past 90 days.

Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price target on the pipeline company's stock. Melius Research's target price points to a potential upside of 17.17% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.56.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WMB opened at $71.69 on Tuesday. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $56.19 and a 1 year high of $80.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.43. The firm has a market cap of $87.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.59.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.56, for a total value of $151,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 264,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,967,410.04. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,050 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Williams Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 67,981,106 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,086,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,991 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,320,606,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 43.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,097,208 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,460,446,000 after purchasing an additional 10,013,946 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 21,325,482 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,281,875,000 after purchasing an additional 3,748,126 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,036,698 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,204,406,000 after purchasing an additional 239,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

Williams Companies, Inc is an energy infrastructure company focused primarily on gathering, processing, transporting and storing natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company provides the infrastructure and related services that connect natural gas supplies with utilities, power generators, industrial customers, liquefied natural gas facilities and other markets.

Williams operates a large network of interstate and regional natural gas pipelines, gathering systems, processing facilities and storage assets across the United States.

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