Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

WMB has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho upgraded Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.21.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $60.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.64. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $65.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.68.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its 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). Williams Companies had a net margin of 20.61% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.90, for a total transaction of $123,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 297,545 shares in the company, valued at $18,418,035.50. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 46,549 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 10,317 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 105.6% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,258,552 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $79,050,000 after purchasing an additional 646,488 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Williams Companies by 185.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 43,069 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 27,987 shares during the period. Seven Post Investment Office LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $3,879,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 153.4% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 831 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.