Jefferies Financial Group Increases Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target to $71.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.72% from the company’s current price.

WMB has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.29.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.4%

WMB stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.31. The company had a trading volume of 5,734,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,051,531. The company has a market capitalization of $73.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.12, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.64. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $51.58 and a 52 week high of $65.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total transaction of $242,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 302,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,319,101.85. This trade represents a 1.30% 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. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clear Trail Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $960,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 4,992.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,704,739 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $222,692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,631,986 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $740,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,511 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,594,000 after buying an additional 3,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 20,792 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 1,272 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is 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.