Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Now Covered by Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, StockNewsAPI reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target points to a potential upside of 7.13% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.46.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:WMB opened at $51.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.95 and a 200-day moving average of $42.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.05. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $51.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 115.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 565,663 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $25,823,000 after purchasing an additional 303,168 shares during the period. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2,955.2% in the third quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 278,974 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $12,735,000 after purchasing an additional 269,843 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,590 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 17.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 64,059 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after buying an additional 9,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 25.6% during the third quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,709 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 1,976 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.