Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $42.00 to $52.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Truist Financial's target price suggests a potential downside of 1.98% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WMB. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Williams Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. CIBC raised their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.38.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.05. The company had a trading volume of 5,504,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,243,772. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.96. 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 $32.65 and a 1-year high of $53.30. The company has a market capitalization of $64.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $13,777,218. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 108,302 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,221,000 after buying an additional 14,672 shares in the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $2,364,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 1,855.7% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,029 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 39,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $1,036,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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.