The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 4.9 %

WMB opened at $57.52 on Friday. Williams Companies has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $61.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $55.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

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.