Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB)

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 75,383 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,204% compared to the typical volume of 5,781 call options.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $59.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $72.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.72. Williams Companies has a 12-month low of $51.58 and a 12-month high of $65.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’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, analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 103.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 104.8% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.21.

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.