Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies’ price target from $99 to $103 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 37.37% upside from the previous close. Analysts overall maintain a “Buy” consensus with an average target of $85.60.
• WMB shares rose 2.1% to $74.98 during Tuesday trading. The company recently met quarterly EPS expectations at $0.50, while revenue of $3.05 billion exceeded estimates and increased 9.8% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 86.44% of Williams Companies, with several funds increasing their positions; meanwhile, insiders have sold 17,000 shares worth approximately $1.26 million over the past 90 days.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $99.00 to $103.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 37.37% from the company's previous close.

WMB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Williams Companies from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.60.

Williams Companies Trading Up 2.1%

WMB stock traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.98. The company had a trading volume of 892,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,925,247. The stock has a market cap of $91.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.59. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $55.82 and a 52 week high of $80.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $73.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.01.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total value of $973,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 268,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,077,064.33. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 17,000 shares of company stock worth $1,262,930 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $647,000. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 261,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $15,689,000 after buying an additional 17,900 shares during the last quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. now owns 525,232 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $31,572,000 after acquiring an additional 150,032 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 164,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,912,000 after acquiring an additional 13,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 688.5% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source