Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $55.00 target price on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on WMB. Seaport Res Ptn cut Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.46.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $51.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $52.17.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.83%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.