Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.
Several other analysts also recently commented on WMB. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Williams Companies from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.35.
Williams Companies Stock Performance
Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 25.17%.The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. 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. On average, analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies
In other news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 268,159 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,064.33. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,000 shares of company stock worth $1,265,730. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Williams Companies
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 67,981,106 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,086,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,991 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $3,320,606,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 43.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,097,208 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,460,446,000 after buying an additional 10,013,946 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 21,325,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,281,875,000 after buying an additional 3,748,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,036,698 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,204,406,000 after acquiring an additional 239,732 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Williams Companies
Williams Companies, Inc is an energy infrastructure company focused primarily on the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas and natural gas liquids. Through its extensive network of pipelines and related facilities, the company connects major U.S. producing regions with utilities, industrial customers, power generators and other energy markets.
Williams’ principal assets include the Transco interstate natural gas pipeline, which serves markets along the U.S. East Coast, as well as gathering and processing operations in regions such as the Appalachian Basin, the Rocky Mountains and the Western United States.
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