Aperture Investors LLC Buys New Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Aperture Investors LLC has acquired a new stake in Williams Companies, purchasing 69,164 shares valued at approximately $4.13 million.
• Williams Companies recently reported earnings of $0.46 per share, missing estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $62.86 for Williams Companies, with several firms reaffirming buy ratings and raising their target prices.

Aperture Investors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 69,164 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $4,133,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $57.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $70.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.98 and a 1 year high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. CIBC raised Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

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

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.

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