The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,334,570 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 223,047 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 4.8% of CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT owned about 0.11% of Williams Companies worth $72,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $59.64 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Williams Companies

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.