Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.200-2.380 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.280. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.36.

Williams Companies Trading Up 2.4%

WMB stock traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,987,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,991,440. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $51.58 and a 1 year high of $71.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 103.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total value of $132,780.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 293,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,488,452.55. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and record results — Williams reported Q4 revenue of ~$3.2B (above forecasts) and described 2025 as a year of record results, reinforcing the company’s cash-generation and growth profile. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: 2026 profit outlook tied to projects — Management said 2026 profit should rise as new pipeline and offshore projects come online, supporting midstream growth and longer-term cash flow visibility. Reuters: Williams sees higher 2026 profit
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic push into fueling AI/data centers — Williams is evaluating upstream gas assets to provide integrated fuel solutions for hyperscalers, which could increase contracted volumes and vertical integration opportunities if pursued. Zacks: explores upstream gas assets
• Neutral Sentiment: FY-2026 guidance roughly in line — Williams set EPS guidance of $2.20–$2.38 (consensus ~2.28), a range that broadly aligns with Street expectations but leaves room for execution risk around project timing. Seeking Alpha summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment supportive but stock appears stretched — Multiple buy/overweight ratings and a median price target near $70 (Jefferies $76) support the rally, though technicals show WMB trading above key moving averages. Yahoo: analyst/valuation note
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and mixed headline — Adjusted Q4 EPS came in about $0.55, a few cents below consensus, which can temper upside despite the revenue beat. Zacks: misses Q4 EPS
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put buying — Traders bought ~16,500 put options (≈112% above average daily put volume), signaling hedging or near-term bearish positioning that could pressure shares if volatility rises. (Options flow report)
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling — Filings show insiders sold shares over the past six months, which investors may view as a mild negative signal on near-term confidence. Quiver Quant: Q4 summary and insider activity

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 99.7% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 767 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 24.0% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,015 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 223.3% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,593 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.