BMO Capital Markets Cuts Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target to $70.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $72.00 to $70.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.86.

Williams Companies Trading Up 2.7%

WMB opened at $59.53 on Wednesday. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $51.58 and a 12 month high of $65.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $72.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chapin Davis Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 10,955 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.2% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,177 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, TrueWealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 0.7% during the second quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,823 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.