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

Key Points

• Williams Companies was upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• Several analysts have recently raised their target prices for Williams Companies, with Scotiabank setting a target of $60.00 and CIBC increasing it to $64.00.
• Williams Companies reported quarterly earnings of $0.46 per share, missing expectations, but still showed a 19% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. CIBC raised shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.07.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $64.05 on Friday. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $44.65 and a 1 year high of $64.48. The company has a market cap of $78.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.19, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.65. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $58.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,500 shares of company stock valued at $623,115. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

About Williams Companies

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.

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