Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $51.00 to $55.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Williams Companies traded as high as $45.81 and last traded at $45.78, with a volume of 137033 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.53.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on WMB. StockNews.com lowered Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $55.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 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 0.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.20.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 4.17%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

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.