Analysts Set The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Price Target at $42.83

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Argus raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:WMB opened at $46.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.13 and a 200-day moving average of $41.45. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $32.49 and a 52 week high of $46.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.