Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's Why

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.86 and last traded at $56.80, with a volume of 97220 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $56.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.38.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $69.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $48.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.42.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 108,302 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,221,000 after acquiring an additional 14,672 shares during the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,370,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1,855.7% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,029 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,918,000 after buying an additional 39,880 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $1,036,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 58.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,404,198 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $54,692,000 after buying an additional 515,823 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.