Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $89.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Williams Companies traded as high as $73.01 and last traded at $72.1570, with a volume of 183828 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.28.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WMB. Mizuho upgraded shares of Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 293,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,488,452.55. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 15,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 34,870 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Betterment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.07. The firm has a market cap of $88.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 93.46%.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.