Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $78.00

Key Points

• UBS Group raised the price target for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) from $74.00 to $78.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.60% from the previous close.
• The stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with one rating it a Strong Buy, eleven a Buy, and five a Hold.
• Despite a recent drop in share price, Williams Companies reported a 19% year-over-year increase in revenue for the last quarter, though it missed earnings expectations by $0.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $74.00 to $78.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the pipeline company's stock. UBS Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 23.60% from the company's previous close.

WMB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.11. 607,548 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,520,956. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. Williams Companies has a twelve month low of $45.24 and a twelve month high of $64.48.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,956,984.90. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $497,715 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $25,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 104.8% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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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