Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 51,427 Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management has initiated a new investment of approximately $3.07 million in Williams Companies, acquiring 51,427 shares during Q1.
• Williams Companies reported a quarterly earnings miss of $0.46 per share, lower than the consensus estimate of $0.49, along with a revenue of $2.78 billion compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with an upcoming ex-dividend date of September 12th, reflecting a 3.5% dividend yield.

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 51,427 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $3,073,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted 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. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMB. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Cibc World Mkts raised Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.5%

WMB stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.70. The company had a trading volume of 6,148,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,248,660. 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 50 day simple moving average of $58.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.39. The company has a market capitalization of $70.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.98 and a 52 week high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.