Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $86.00 at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank raised its price target on Williams Companies to $86 from $85 and kept a sector outperform rating, implying about 15% upside from the prior close.
• The company recently reported Q1 EPS of $0.73, beating consensus estimates of $0.63, though revenue of $3.03 billion came in below expectations.
• Williams Companies’ stock traded around $74.75, and the broader analyst view remains positive with an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $80.33.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Scotiabank from $85.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sector outperform" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Scotiabank's price target points to a potential upside of 15.05% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.33.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,581,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,912,441. The stock has a market cap of $91.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $55.82 and a fifty-two week high of $77.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $73.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.30.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 103,369 shares of company stock worth $7,700,932 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 59.4% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 102.5% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 480 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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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