The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Short Interest Down 17.4% in April

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 21,330,000 shares, a drop of 17.4% from the April 15th total of 25,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $1,513,102.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,392,840.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB traded up $0.02 on Monday, hitting $39.66. The company had a trading volume of 5,889,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,926,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $48.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 1.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $38.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.17. Williams Companies has a 12-month low of $28.27 and a 12-month high of $39.99.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMB. CIBC upped their target price on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of Williams Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.42.

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.