Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $83.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $83.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WMB. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Friday, September 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. CIBC upgraded Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.53.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $64.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $48.41 and a 12 month high of $65.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.97.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $497,715 in the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jackson Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $5,144,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 124.9% during the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,645 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 7,578 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 42,477 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Helen Stephens Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Rydar Equities Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $295,000. 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.