Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Bought by Balefire LLC

Key Points

• Balefire LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 10.8%, owning 45,773 shares worth approximately $2.88 million after acquiring more shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Williams Companies reported $0.46 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.49, with total revenue reaching $2.78 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.5%, and a dividend payout ratio of 100.5%.

Balefire LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 10.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,773 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,455 shares during the period. Balefire LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.6% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 298,457 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $18,746,000 after acquiring an additional 18,472 shares in the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 42,321 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,658,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 145.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 55,217 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,468,000 after acquiring an additional 32,758 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 846.3% during the 2nd quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 1,779 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 13,665 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $60.19. 14,759,060 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,639,600. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.50. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.51 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMB. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,956,984.90. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,500 shares of company stock valued at $623,115 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.