Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $70.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised the price target for Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.91% from the stock's current price.
• The company reported earnings of $0.46 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, with revenue at $2.78 billion compared to expected $2.90 billion.
• Institutional investors hold 86.44% of Williams Companies' stock, with notable recent acquisitions by firms such as Goldman Sachs and Blackstone.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential upside of 21.91% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.8%

WMB stock traded down $0.47 on Friday, hitting $57.42. 1,233,803 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,794,266. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.29. Williams Companies has a 12-month low of $42.79 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The stock has a market cap of $70.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.54.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $335,419,000. Blackstone Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 45.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2,303.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $190,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 11,287,921 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $674,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,861,988 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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