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Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $83.00

Williams Companies logo with Energy background

Key Points

  • Morgan Stanley raised the price target for Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.56% from the current stock price.
  • Williams Companies has received predominantly positive ratings from analysts, with one Strong Buy, eleven Buy, and five Hold ratings, alongside an average price target of $65.53.
  • Insiders at Williams Companies have sold 8,500 shares over the last three months, signaling a decrease in ownership despite having a significant 86.44% institutional ownership of the company's stock.
  • MarketBeat previews top five stocks to own in November.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $83.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 29.56% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on WMB. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.53.

View Our Latest Stock Report on WMB

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of WMB traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.07. The stock had a trading volume of 4,853,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,537,246. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies has a 1-year low of $47.52 and a 1-year high of $65.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $497,715. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,075,340 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,358,462,000 after buying an additional 1,912,156 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Williams Companies by 6.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,770,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680,477 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Williams Companies by 5.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,520,491 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,047,025,000 after purchasing an additional 932,998 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $913,840,000 after buying an additional 54,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,417,821 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $905,583,000 after buying an additional 3,089,390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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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