Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) PT Raised to $48.00 at Scotiabank

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective raised by Scotiabank from $43.00 to $48.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Williams Companies from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus raised shares of Williams Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, US Capital Advisors cut shares of Williams Companies from an overweight rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.50.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $43.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $52.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 1.05. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $32.49 and a 1 year high of $45.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.40 and its 200 day moving average is $39.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued 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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 5.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $817,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,628 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 12,670,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $538,482,000 after purchasing an additional 144,713 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $403,801,000 after buying an additional 2,039,703 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,648,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $410,064,000 after buying an additional 311,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $306,417,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.