Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Williams Companies from an overweight rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.50.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.26. The stock had a trading volume of 6,048,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,628,597. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.20. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $32.49 and a fifty-two week high of $45.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 79.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 5.9% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $817,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,628 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 12,670,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $538,482,000 after buying an additional 144,713 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $403,801,000 after buying an additional 2,039,703 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Williams Companies by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,648,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $410,064,000 after acquiring an additional 311,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $306,417,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.