Hourglass Capital LLC Cuts Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Hourglass Capital LLC decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,880 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 13,420 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for about 2.1% of Hourglass Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Hourglass Capital LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,631,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,605 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3,490.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,600,239 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $86,605,000 after buying an additional 1,555,667 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 224.1% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,334,307 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $60,909,000 after buying an additional 922,550 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,989,278 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $136,461,000 after purchasing an additional 718,915 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,398,004,000 after purchasing an additional 520,663 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.25. 7,502,611 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,644,162. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $55.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.98. The stock has a market cap of $71.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.85 and a 12-month high of $61.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 103.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.29.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.