Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Holdings Boosted by Bokf Na

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Bokf Na raised its Williams Companies stake by 4.5% to 419,791 shares valued at $28.5 million. Overall, hedge funds and other institutions own 86.44% of WMB.
• Analysts remain bullish: Williams has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $86.06, despite some analysts lowering their targets. Recent results included $0.50 earnings per share and $3.05 billion in revenue, which exceeded estimates.
• Dividend and risks: The company maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.525 per share, or $2.10 annually, yielding about 2.8%. However, relatively high leverage and rising interest rates could pressure valuation, financing costs, and the dividend’s appeal.

Bokf Na raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 419,791 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 17,889 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $28,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,504,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $15,277,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $77,998,000. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $647,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 688.5% in the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 479,126 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,722,000 after purchasing an additional 418,365 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperformer" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.06.

Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: WMB recently moved above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, signaling improving short-term and long-term momentum. These breakouts may attract technical traders and reinforce the view that the stock has established support near current levels. WMB 50-day moving average article WMB 200-day moving average article
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity points to bullish positioning: investors purchased about 151,361 WMB call options, roughly 997% above typical call volume. Options activity is speculative, but it suggests increased expectations for further gains. WMB options and moving average article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to third-quarter results, with the Socrates Phase 1 project, the Momentum acquisition and strong natural-gas demand identified as potential growth drivers. Williams’ fee-based pipeline model also makes it a relatively defensive energy holding, including for power demand from data centers. Williams Q3 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, payable December 28 to shareholders of record December 11. The $2.10 annualized payout represents a yield of approximately 2.8%, but the dividend was maintained rather than increased. Williams quarterly dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Rising interest rates could pressure WMB’s valuation and increase financing costs, particularly given its relatively high leverage. Higher yields may also make the company’s dividend less attractive compared with cash and other income investments, while rising operating costs remain a risk ahead of earnings.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $74.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $72.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.64. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $56.19 and a one year high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 25.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. Analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.85, for a total transaction of $135,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 262,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,794,273.15. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,000 shares of company stock worth $1,401,430. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc is an energy infrastructure company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1908 as Williams Brothers, the company has evolved from an early pipeline contractor into a major operator of natural gas infrastructure in the United States.

Williams primarily gathers, processes, transports and stores natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its assets include interstate and regional pipelines, gas processing and fractionation facilities, storage operations, and gathering systems that connect producers with utilities, industrial customers, power generators and other energy markets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.