Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $67.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.25% from the company's previous close.

WMB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, May 16th. CIBC raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.75.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,661,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,701,760. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.19. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $40.11 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The stock has a market cap of $73.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,583 shares of company stock valued at $6,095,318. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% 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.