Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish: Williams Companies has a consensus “Buy” rating from 20 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $85.33 versus the stock’s recent $73.55 price.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $3.05 billion, up 9.8% year over year, while earnings of $0.50 per share matched estimates. Analysts expect about $2.43 in full-year EPS.
• Williams declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.10 payout and a 2.9% yield; insiders have sold 17,000 shares over the past 90 days.

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.3333.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total value of $973,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 268,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. The trade was 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 hyperlink. Insiders sold 17,000 shares of company stock worth $1,262,930 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hamilton Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $653,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $92,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,111,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $869,000. Finally, Brasada Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,430,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $73.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.48. Williams Companies has a one year low of $55.82 and a one year high of $80.07. The business's 50 day moving average price is $73.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.01. The company has a market cap of $89.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.59.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 83.67%.

About Williams Companies

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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