Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Given New $55.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $51.00 to $55.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

WMB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Williams Companies from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the company from $38.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Williams Companies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Williams Companies from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $43.50.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $45.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.35. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $32.49 and a 52 week high of $45.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. SouthState Corp bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

About Williams Companies

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.