Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $47.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $44.00 to $47.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price points to a potential upside of 3.78% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.83.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.29. 3,350,261 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,499,317. The stock's fifty day moving average is $42.89 and its 200 day moving average is $39.79. The stock has a market cap of $55.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. Williams Companies has a 1-year low of $32.49 and a 1-year high of $45.35.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 54,960 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 8,426 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $575,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,392 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 2,605 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 54,728 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,906,000 after buying an additional 4,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,431 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.