Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Rating Lowered by Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Williams Companies from an overweight rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on 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, UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.77.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $42.21 on Tuesday. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.49 and a 52-week high of $45.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.18 and a 200-day moving average of $38.89. The company has a market capitalization of $51.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The company’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,133 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 48,074 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 10,165 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 192,377 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,700,000 after purchasing an additional 4,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 312.7% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 11,592 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 8,783 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.