Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Trading 4.3% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) shot up 4.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $75.53 and last traded at $74.1390. 1,397,794 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 6,901,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.60.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.36 and its 200-day moving average is $73.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.58.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. Analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total value of $973,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,262,930. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Williams Companies

Williams Companies, Inc (NYSE: WMB) is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.