Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $60.00 at Truist Financial

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price upped by Truist Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WMB. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. CIBC raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock opened at $57.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $69.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $33.03 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in Williams Companies by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.