The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.07.

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Down 3.6 %

NYSE WMB traded down $2.04 on Friday, reaching $54.38. 3,707,275 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,652,679. The company has a market cap of $66.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.78, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.29.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

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.