Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB)

Research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 15.02% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on WMB. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.94.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $62.60 on Thursday. Williams Companies has a 1-year low of $49.30 and a 1-year high of $65.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.08. The company has a market capitalization of $76.33 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $497,715. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.