Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Price

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Barclays from $56.00 to $58.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 2.48% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.21.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,737,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,181,472. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $72.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. Williams Companies has a 1-year low of $37.18 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $57.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.83.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMB. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $456,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 315,936 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $17,098,000 after acquiring an additional 95,835 shares during the period. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $249,000. Finally, Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $952,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.