Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Stock Rated “Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have given a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.35.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Williams Companies from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of WMB opened at $74.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $91.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.64. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $56.19 and a fifty-two week high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 25.17%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 83.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total transaction of $973,310.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,064.33. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock worth $1,401,430 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 56.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 386 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

Williams Companies, Inc is an energy infrastructure company focused primarily on the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas and natural gas liquids. Through its extensive network of pipelines and related facilities, the company connects major U.S. producing regions with utilities, industrial customers, power generators and other energy markets.

Williams’ principal assets include the Transco interstate natural gas pipeline, which serves markets along the U.S. East Coast, as well as gathering and processing operations in regions such as the Appalachian Basin, the Rocky Mountains and the Western United States.