Williams Companies Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:WMB)

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 20,221 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 107% compared to the average daily volume of 9,773 call options.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $57.44 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $34.26 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $70.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.04.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is 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.