Junto Capital Management LP Takes Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Junto Capital Management initiated a position in Williams Companies, purchasing 1.07 million shares valued at approximately $79.2 million. The investment represented about 1.4% of Junto’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively owned 86.44% of WMB.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $85.60, above the stock’s reported $75.24 price. Recent targets ranged from $82 to $90.
• Williams Companies met quarterly earnings expectations at $0.50 per share and exceeded revenue forecasts with $3.05 billion, up 9.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equal to a 2.8% annualized yield.

Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,065,328 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $79,196,000. Williams Companies makes up about 1.4% of Junto Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Junto Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.09% of Williams Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $85.60.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $75.24 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a market cap of $92.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.36 and a 200 day moving average of $73.56. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.19 and a 52 week high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 83.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total value of $973,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 268,159 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,064.33. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock worth $1,414,050 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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