Scotiabank Issues Positive Forecast for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Price

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by Scotiabank from $59.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Scotiabank's target price points to a potential upside of 2.60% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on WMB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.77.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.48. 5,552,841 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,104,533. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $71.31 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies has a twelve month low of $40.41 and a twelve month high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total transaction of $125,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,489,000 after acquiring an additional 6,816 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 27.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,081,000 after acquiring an additional 87,031 shares during the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 14.0% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,130,000 after acquiring an additional 10,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 183,317 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,224,000 after acquiring an additional 7,618 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.