Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Williams Companies (WMB) from "sell" to "hold"; the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (2 Strong Buy, 13 Buy, 4 Hold) with a consensus target price of $75.86 and several brokers recently raising targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $90).
• Williams reported Q results of $0.55 EPS (missed by $0.02) on $3.20B revenue (above estimates) and issued FY2026 guidance of 2.200–2.380 EPS, while analysts project about $2.08 EPS for the year.
• The stock trades around $74.16 with a market cap of ~$90.6B and a PE of 34.65; insiders sold ~43,107 shares (~$3.13M) over the past three months, and institutional investors own roughly 86.4% of the company.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.86.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB opened at $74.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $90.59 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $66.94 and a 200-day moving average of $62.40. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $76.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.24, for a total transaction of $150,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 291,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,906,803.16. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,699.30. This represents a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 43,107 shares of company stock worth $3,133,015. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,540,556 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $287,644,000 after acquiring an additional 134,777 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 185.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 43,069 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 27,987 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 9.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $11,664,000 after purchasing an additional 16,027 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 75.9% in the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,290 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,937,000 after purchasing an additional 54,057 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3,344.8% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 17,465 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 16,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.