Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on WMB. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.53.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:WMB opened at $64.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $78.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $48.41 and a fifty-two week high of $65.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.96.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $497,715 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chapin Davis Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 10,955 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,177 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% in the first quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 183 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.