UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $55.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

WMB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com cut Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.54.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.55. 7,461,837 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,889,876. The firm has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.93. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $57.33. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at $30,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Williams Companies

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.