Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $83.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Williams Companies to $83 from $81 and kept a buy rating, implying about 15.4% upside from the current share price.
• The company’s Q1 earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $0.73 versus the $0.63 estimate, though revenue came in below forecasts at $3.03 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on WMB, with multiple firms recently reiterating or upgrading ratings and an overall consensus of Buy with an average target price of $80.27.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Citigroup from $81.00 to $83.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Citigroup's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.44% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on WMB. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, March 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Williams Companies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $80.27.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.90. 4,664,046 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,985,902. Williams Companies has a 12-month low of $55.82 and a 12-month high of $77.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $87.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.16.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,290,699.30. This represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.15, for a total value of $211,988.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 31,766 shares in the company, valued at $2,323,682.90. This trade represents a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 103,369 shares of company stock worth $7,700,932 in the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies News Summary

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

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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