Scotiabank Issues Positive Forecast for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Price

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $84.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.31% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on WMB. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.07.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB traded down $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $71.85. The stock had a trading volume of 6,002,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,360,643. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $87.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.37. Williams Companies has a 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $76.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $547,807.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 26,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,938,231.45. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This represents a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,369 shares of company stock worth $3,769,012. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its position in Williams Companies by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.