Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price raised by equities researchers at UBS Group from $55.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $55.94. 1,015,639 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,223,295. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.81. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $57.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $68.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 78,548 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is 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.