FY2024 EPS Estimate for Williams Companies Cut by Analyst

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Williams Companies in a report issued on Monday, December 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst S. Sibal now expects that the pipeline company will post earnings per share of $1.91 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $1.94. The consensus estimate for Williams Companies' current full-year earnings is $1.92 per share.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on WMB. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Williams Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.07.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.30. 7,508,985 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,305,403. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $53.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.60. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $68.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,154 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 1,946 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 56,871 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,417,000 after buying an additional 2,236 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,299 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 441.8% in the 2nd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,322 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accel Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $230,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

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.