Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $55.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.79.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

WMB opened at $58.36 on Tuesday. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.86 and its 200 day moving average is $46.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Comerica Bank increased its position in Williams Companies by 2.1% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 517,312 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $20,160,000 after purchasing an additional 10,579 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 60.9% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 454.3% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,947 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 43,395 shares during the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP grew its position in Williams Companies by 126.1% in the first quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 14,143 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 7,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 5.3% during the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 32,416 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.