UBS Group Increases Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target to $47.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $38.64.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, hitting $38.07. The stock had a trading volume of 7,906,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,105,879. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $28.27 and a 52-week high of $39.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day moving average price is $36.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.54.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 29.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.