Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $61.93 and last traded at $62.09, with a volume of 1026000 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WMB. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, May 16th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.25.

Williams Companies Stock Up 3.6%

The stock has a market cap of $76.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.22 and a 200 day moving average of $57.51.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. 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.