Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Increased to $48.00 by Analysts at Scotiabank

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective hoisted by Scotiabank from $43.00 to $48.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. CIBC raised their price target on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of WMB stock opened at $43.26 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.27. 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 1-year low of $32.49 and a 1-year high of $45.10. The firm has a market cap of $52.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $31,000. 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.