CIBC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price increased by CIBC from $56.00 to $57.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. CIBC currently has a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

Williams Companies Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:WMB opened at $54.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $35.74 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.01. The stock has a market cap of $66.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,811,000 after purchasing an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 83,429 shares during the period. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by 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.