Versor Investments LP Makes New Investment in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has acquired 31,500 shares of Williams Companies, Inc. for approximately $1.88 million, indicating an interest from institutional investors in the company's stock.
• Williams Companies recently reported a missed earnings estimate for the quarter, with earnings per share of $0.46 compared to the expected $0.49, alongside quarterly revenue of $2.78 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a payout ratio of 100.50%, scheduled to be paid on September 29th.

Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 31,500 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,882,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $305,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,564 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 26,104 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 598,274 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $32,379,000 after buying an additional 11,373 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMB. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. CIBC upgraded Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.5930 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.1630. 6,270,156 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,742,995. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.98 and a 52-week high of $63.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.90 and a 200-day moving average of $58.30.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Williams Companies 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.