Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Increased to $52.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $45.00 to $52.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WMB. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $49.63 on Thursday. Williams Companies has a one year low of $32.63 and a one year high of $49.67. The company has a market capitalization of $60.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.06.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 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 company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 2.8% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,298 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 31,206 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 15,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 17,883 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,770 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.