Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $70.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Williams Companies traded as high as $57.83 and last traded at $57.65, with a volume of 2036739 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.55.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. CIBC lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. One investment 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.54.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction 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 $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 78,548 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.03. The company has a market capitalization of $70.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.