Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $87.00 at TD Cowen

Key Points

• TD Cowen raised its price target on Williams Companies to $87 (from $81) and maintained a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 17.8% upside from the prior close.
• Several brokers have lifted targets or upgraded the stock (e.g., UBS to $89, Goldman Sachs to "buy"), leaving MarketBeat's consensus as a "Buy" with a $80.07 consensus price target.
• Williams beat Q1 EPS at $0.73 versus $0.63 expected but missed revenue ($3.03B vs. ~$3.27B); management set FY2026 guidance of $2.20–$2.38 EPS, the board raised the quarterly dividend 5%, and insiders have recently sold shares.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by TD Cowen from $81.00 to $87.00 in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the pipeline company's stock. TD Cowen's price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.80% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on WMB. UBS Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.07.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $73.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Williams Companies has a one year low of $55.82 and a one year high of $77.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.08.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. The trade was a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $547,807.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at $1,938,231.45. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,932,432. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its position in Williams Companies by 688.5% during the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 479,126 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,722,000 after acquiring an additional 418,365 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 4.6% during the first quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 217,619 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $15,838,000 after acquiring an additional 9,546 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 27.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,754,878 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $200,500,000 after acquiring an additional 588,778 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 61.6% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 3,310 shares during the period. Finally, Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 13.2% during the first quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,714 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

More Williams Companies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat — Williams reported $0.73 EPS, topping estimates and showing cash‑generation strength, which supports the dividend and buyback optionality. WMB Beats Q1 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Structural demand tailwinds — Multiple recent pieces highlight rising natural‑gas demand from AI data centers, power markets and LNG, which underpin Williams’s long‑term fee‑based cash flows and project backlog. Williams Eyes 13% Upside on AI Data Center Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend & project execution — Board approved a 5% raise to the quarterly payout and management has placed new pipeline capacity into service, reducing volume risk and supporting steady distributable cash flow. How Williams Is Cashing in on the AI Power Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price‑target lifts — Firms including Stifel and others have raised targets (Stifel to $83) and reiterated buy ratings, supporting sentiment but not introducing new company fundamentals. Benzinga (Stifel note)
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance provided — Management set EPS guidance of $2.20–$2.38; the range overlaps consensus and leaves room for debate on FY momentum, so investors are parsing the midpoint vs. sell‑side models. Q1 2026 Press Release & Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss — Q1 revenue came in below consensus ($3.03B vs. ~$3.27B), which tempers the EPS beat and raises questions about near‑term volume trends. Williams Q1 Revenue vs Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options/insider activity — Elevated put buying and a small SVP sale have drawn attention and likely contributed to short‑term volatility, even though the insider transaction was modest in size. Insider Sale Filing

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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