Analysts Set Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Price Target at $62.86

Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.8571.

A number of research firms have commented on WMB. Wall Street Zen cut Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.22 on Tuesday, reaching $57.51. The stock had a trading volume of 5,554,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,633,887. The stock has a market cap of $70.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $43.98 and a 1 year high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.39.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.50%.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.