Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given "Outperform" Rating at Royal Bank Of Canada

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $63.00 price target on the pipeline company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price indicates a potential upside of 8.29% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.77.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,181,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,117,880. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $40.41 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.08.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total value of $125,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.