Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Upgraded by Scotiabank to “Sector Outperform” Rating

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) was upgraded by stock analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $84.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.02% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on WMB. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho upgraded Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.27.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $71.17 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.70. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $51.58 and a 1 year high of $72.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total value of $132,780.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 293,545 shares in the company, valued at $19,488,452.55. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its position in Williams Companies by 60.2% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Williams Companies

Williams Companies, Inc (NYSE: WMB) is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.