US Capital Advisors Has Bullish Outlook for WMB Q1 Earnings

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) - Investment analysts at US Capital Advisors upped their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Williams Companies in a research note issued to investors on Monday, April 27th. US Capital Advisors analyst J. Carreker now expects that the pipeline company will post earnings per share of $0.61 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.59. The consensus estimate for Williams Companies' current full-year earnings is $2.41 per share. US Capital Advisors also issued estimates for Williams Companies' FY2026 earnings at $2.19 EPS.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WMB. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $73.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $76.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.06 and a 200 day moving average of $65.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $747,749,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON increased its stake in Williams Companies by 190.3% in the 2nd quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $755,490,000 after buying an additional 7,884,730 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Williams Companies by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,586,299 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,077,942,000 after buying an additional 6,668,950 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 21,325,482 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,281,875,000 after buying an additional 3,748,126 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 4,992.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,704,739 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $222,692,000 after buying an additional 3,631,986 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total value of $1,968,840.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 293,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,377,154.28. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $547,807.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at $1,938,231.45. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,912,512. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 98.13%.

More Williams Companies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs upgraded WMB to Buy (from Neutral) and set an $82 price target, citing the strength and strategic value of the company’s Transcontinental Gas Pipeline (Transco) as a core transmission asset that supports upside. Goldman Sachs Upgrades Williams Companies (WMB) to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Williams’ board approved a higher quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share (5% increase vs. 2025), reinforcing the company’s cash-return policy and boosting income investor appeal; ex‑dividend June 12, payable June 29. Williams Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Sector analysis points to a Northeast pipeline revival that reshapes regional natural gas flows—a structural tailwind for Transco and Williams’ transmission franchise. This supports longer‑term volume and utilization expectations. The Northeast Pipeline Revival Changes The Natural Gas Map
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and yield are in focus after the dividend raise; recent commentary assesses WMB’s payout and valuation metrics versus peers while noting analyst EPS expectations and FY‑2026 guidance (2.20–2.38 EPS). Assessing Williams Companies (WMB) Valuation After A Higher Quarterly Dividend Approval
• Negative Sentiment: Some investor actions in the midstream space—such as reported exits from other midstream names—could signal rotation risks or relative preference shifts away from select pipeline names, which can pressure sentiment even if Williams’ fundamentals remain intact. Why Cushing Sold Out of Hess Midstream LP -- and What It Means for Investors

Williams Companies Company Profile

Williams Companies, Inc NYSE: WMB is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.

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