Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WMB. CIBC raised their price target on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. US Capital Advisors cut shares of Williams Companies from an overweight rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $41.25.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $41.26 on Friday. Williams Companies has a 12-month low of $30.24 and a 12-month high of $41.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.17. The firm has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 79.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $1,513,102.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.