Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Williams Companies Put Options (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Put-option activity surged: Investors bought 36,291 WMB put options, about 146% above the typical daily volume.
• Shares rose $2.17 to $66.25 during Monday trading, despite trading below their 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• Williams matched quarterly EPS expectations at $0.54, while revenue of $3.22 billion topped estimates and increased 10.3% year over year; analysts’ consensus rating was “Buy,” with an $86.33 price target.

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 36,291 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 146% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,774 put options.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB traded up $2.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $66.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,678,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,284,768. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $80.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.46. The firm has a market cap of $82.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.62.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.54. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.02% and a net margin of 24.99%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total transaction of $973,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock worth $1,408,470 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $3,320,606,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 43.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,097,208 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,460,446,000 after buying an additional 10,013,946 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $596,077,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $500,305,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $354,184,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.33.

About Williams Companies

Williams Companies is an energy infrastructure company focused primarily on gathering, processing, transporting and storing natural gas. Its systems connect natural gas-producing regions with utilities, power generators, industrial customers and other energy markets.

The company operates pipelines and related facilities across the United States. Its Transco pipeline system carries natural gas from the Gulf Coast and other supply areas to customers along the East Coast, while its gathering and processing operations serve producers in regions including the Northeast, the West and the Gulf Coast.

Williams traces its roots to 1908, when brothers Miller and David Williams established a construction business that later expanded into energy infrastructure.

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