FWL Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

FWL Investment Management LLC grew its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 19.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,850 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 10,475 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies makes up 1.4% of FWL Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. FWL Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Steward Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 52.5% in the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.76% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $35.60 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.06. The company has a market cap of $43.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.14. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.80 and a fifty-two week high of $36.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 24.52%. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $0.4475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $1.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.03%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Williams Companies from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams Companies from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on Williams Companies from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.33.

Williams Companies 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 Transco and Northwest natural gas pipelines; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region, as well as various petrochemical and feedstock pipelines.