Jefferies Financial Group Increases Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target to $71.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $70.00 to $71.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.72% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WMB. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.29.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:WMB opened at $60.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.64. Williams Companies has a 52 week low of $51.58 and a 52 week high of $65.55. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $59.96 and a 200 day moving average of $59.68.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total transaction of $242,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 302,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,319,101.85. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Chapin Davis Inc. increased its position in Williams Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 10,955 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 8.8% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.2% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,177 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, TrueWealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% in the second quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,823 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Williams Companies

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.