Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 19,232 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $25,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 104.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $242,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 302,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,319,101.85. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $61.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $65.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.68.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 103.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CIBC raised shares of Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho upgraded Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.21.

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.