StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 16th, 2023

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. US Capital Advisors raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, December 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Barclays lowered Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, Argus lowered Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.82.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $28.78 on Thursday. Williams Companies has a 12-month low of $28.17 and a 12-month high of $37.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $35.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 1.17.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 20th. The pipeline company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 18.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William H. Spence acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.61 per share, with a total value of $148,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 48,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,706.81. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 13,880 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.1% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 14,708 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 52.5% during the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 15,424 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 10,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 85.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Company Profile

(Get Rating)

The Williams Cos., Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company, which explores, produces, transports, sells and processes natural gas and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Transmission and Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, and West. The Transmission and Gulf of Mexico segment consists of interstate natural gas pipelines, the Transco and Northwest Pipelines, as well as natural gas gathering and processing and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.