Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Barclays from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.16% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.50.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $75.12 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market cap of $91.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.57. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $55.82 and a fifty-two week high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.16, for a total value of $148,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 283,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,999,071.44. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total transaction of $195,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,993.15. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655 over the last three months. 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 company. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its position in Williams Companies by 0.9% during the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,153 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 15,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 34,870 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,096,000 after acquiring an additional 150 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.