BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Price

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $72.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target indicates a potential upside of 23.92% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.79.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $56.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $65.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.40. The company has a market cap of $68.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 60,820 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,851 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Williams Companies by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 27,541 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after buying an additional 3,028 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 64,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after buying an additional 5,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.