The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,417,000. Blackstone Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 109.1% in the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 6,466,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $252,006,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373,800 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $403,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039,703 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,753,223 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $224,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,223,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $46.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $56.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.05. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $32.49 and a 1 year 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $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 currently 79.83%.

About Williams Companies

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.