Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $99.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 32.95% from the company’s previous close.

WMB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.56.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $74.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.97. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $55.82 and a 1 year high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.16, for a total value of $148,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 283,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,999,071.44. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 2.3% in the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its position in Williams Companies by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,153 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 15,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.