Brokerages Set Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) PT at $83.56

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.5625.

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th.

Williams Companies News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend supports income appeal: Williams declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to approximately $2.10 annually and a yield near 3%. The dividend is payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 11. Williams Companies dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price target remains above the market: Analysts set an average price target of $83.56, implying potential upside and signaling continued confidence in the pipeline operator’s earnings and cash-flow profile. Analysts set Williams Companies price target
• Positive Sentiment: Energy infrastructure demand and sustainability progress: Williams’ 2025 Sustainability Report highlighted improvements in environmental, safety and operational metrics. Management also pointed to rapidly rising energy demand, which could support long-term utilization of the company’s natural-gas pipeline infrastructure. Williams sustainability report
• Neutral Sentiment: Second-quarter expectations remain the key near-term catalyst: Wall Street projections focus on revenue, earnings and operating metrics for the quarter ended June 2026. The reports provide estimates but no reported results, leaving the upcoming earnings release as the main test of whether demand growth is translating into financial performance. Williams Q2 Wall Street projections
• Negative Sentiment: Estimates were trimmed: US Capital Advisors lowered its EPS forecasts for the third quarter of 2026, first and second quarters of 2027, and fiscal 2028. The FY2028 estimate fell to $2.86 from $2.89, a modest reduction that nevertheless signals slightly softer expected earnings growth. Williams Companies analyst estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Defensive options activity increased: Investors purchased 17,796 put options, 86% above average volume. While this may represent hedging rather than outright bearish positioning, it indicates heightened near-term caution around WMB.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total value of $195,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,789.12. This trade represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 66,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,029,955 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 62.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $70.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $86.70 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. Williams Companies has a 1 year low of $55.82 and a 1 year high of $80.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.17.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

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.