Seaport Res Ptn Lowers Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) to Hold

Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WMB. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Argus raised Williams Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Williams Companies from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Williams Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $41.77.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $43.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.05. Williams Companies has a 12 month low of $32.49 and a 12 month high of $45.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The business’s revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 60,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,840.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.