King Luther Capital Management Corp Increases Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 83,739 shares and bringing its total to 187,005 shares worth about $11.24 million.
• Williams Companies reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.73 per share, beating analyst estimates, though revenue came in below expectations at $3.03 billion and was slightly lower year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, implying an annualized yield of 2.8%, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of $82.40.

King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 81.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,005 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 83,739 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $11,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $74.30 on Thursday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $80.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.80 and a 200 day moving average of $67.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $90.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.61.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.11%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. This trade represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total transaction of $195,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 80,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,088,112 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.40.

Williams Companies Profile

Williams Companies, Inc NYSE: WMB is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.

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