Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $56.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price upped by Mizuho from $47.00 to $56.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WMB. StockNews.com downgraded Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.62.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.6 %

Williams Companies stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $52.99. 290,407 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,218,821. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $53.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blackstone Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 109.1% during the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 6,466,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $252,006,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373,800 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth $57,220,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $817,736,000 after buying an additional 1,175,628 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,117,298 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $259,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its position in Williams Companies by 13.4% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 8,540,611 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $332,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010,658 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.