The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.77.

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMB shares. CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of WMB opened at $59.67 on Wednesday. Williams Companies has a twelve month low of $37.69 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The stock has a market cap of $72.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.31.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 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.