Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $56.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $47.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WMB. Citigroup increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Argus raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $51.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $62.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Williams Companies has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $51.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.69.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 108,302 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,221,000 after acquiring an additional 14,672 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 145.5% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 95,359 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,716,000 after acquiring an additional 56,509 shares in the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $2,364,000. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,036,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.