Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given “Sector Perform” Rating at Scotiabank

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reaffirmed by Scotiabank in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $51.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 9.83% from the company’s current price.

WMB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.29.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.56. 568,445 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,000,603. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the third quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth $545,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,617,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $165,130,000 after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Williams Companies by 1,855.7% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 42,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 39,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 402.9% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 91,983 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,199,000 after acquiring an additional 73,693 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.