Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Reaches New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $39.99 and last traded at $39.89, with a volume of 966804 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.06.

The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMB. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. US Capital Advisors downgraded Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.55.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 22,683 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 15,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.6% during the first quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 17,883 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company raised its position in Williams Companies by 4.9% in the first quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 6,116 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.8% in the first quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 10,520 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $47.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.06.

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.