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

Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.29.

Several research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. CIBC increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $57.78 on Friday. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $33.85 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $55.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.87.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. 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 80.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 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.