Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Williams Companies has a consensus analyst rating of "Buy" from 20 covering analysts, with an average 12-month price target of about $80.27. Several firms recently raised targets, including RBC, Stifel, Wells Fargo, and Jefferies.
• The company beat Q1 earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $0.73 versus estimates of $0.63, and it also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.525 per share. The annualized dividend now implies a yield of about 2.9%.
• Despite the upbeat outlook, the article notes ongoing insider selling and some investor concern about leverage and heavy capital spending. Williams also continues to attract interest from institutional investors, which own most of the stock.

Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Buy" by the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.2667.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $547,807.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,938,231.45. The trade was a 22.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,699.30. The trade was a 36.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 103,369 shares of company stock worth $7,700,932. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,540,556 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $287,644,000 after acquiring an additional 134,777 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $11,664,000 after acquiring an additional 16,027 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,290 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,937,000 after acquiring an additional 54,057 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in Williams Companies by 3,344.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 17,465 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 16,958 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $4,627,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms turned more bullish on Williams Companies, with TD Cowen raising its price target to $87 and RBC lifting its target to $83, while other recent notes reiterated buy/outperform views. That suggests analysts still see meaningful upside in WMB’s growth and cash-flow profile. Analyst price target coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.73 versus estimates of $0.63, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 per share. For income-focused investors, the stronger payout and earnings outperformance help support sentiment. Q1 earnings and market reaction
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary continues to highlight Williams’ exposure to natural gas demand from data centers and AI infrastructure, which could provide a long-term growth tailwind if the company executes well on its project pipeline. AI power boom article
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams continues to be described as a company in “record quarter” mode, with a large investment slate aimed at power innovation and data-center demand. That could support a higher valuation over time, but it depends on successful execution. Record quarter coverage
• Negative Sentiment: CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares in a recent SEC filing, and the sale follows a pattern of insider selling at WMB over the past several months. Insider sales can weigh on sentiment, even if they do not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals. SEC Form 4 — insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also watching leverage and capex pressure, as market discussion points to higher debt and a sizable growth spending plan that could constrain financial flexibility if project returns take time to materialize. Balance sheet concerns

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $71.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.16. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $77.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.61.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

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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