The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Receives $53.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.29.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $57.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $33.85 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its position in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in Williams Companies by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank boosted its position in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently 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.