Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $63.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WMB. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.07.

Williams Companies Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:WMB opened at $54.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $66.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $35.74 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.01.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.