Scotiabank Reiterates Sector Perform Rating for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB)

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating restated by equities researchers at Scotiabank in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $51.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price points to a potential downside of 9.83% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. CIBC boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.29.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.56. 568,445 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,000,603. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.