Analysts Set The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Price Target at $51.79

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.79.

Several research firms have commented on WMB. StockNews.com cut Williams Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.52. 3,638,531 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,555,747. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.03. Williams Companies has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.34.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. Williams Companies's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company'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 value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 19.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,631,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,605 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,117,298 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $259,985,000 after buying an additional 1,024,158 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 224.1% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,989,278 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $136,461,000 after buying an additional 718,915 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $325,726,000 after buying an additional 618,056 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.