Jefferies Financial Group Raises Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Price Target to $76.00

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) had its target price upped by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 14.49% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WMB. Zacks Research cut Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. 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. Barclays boosted 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.64.

Williams Companies Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $66.38 on Tuesday. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $68.95. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.25. The company has a market cap of $81.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total value of $132,780.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 293,545 shares in the company, valued at $19,488,452.55. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $498,700 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 24,611 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 47,466 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% in the second quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 8.8% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $76 and maintained a Buy rating — a clear upside catalyst that supports investor interest. Jefferies Boosts PT to $76
• Positive Sentiment: Williams recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (annualized $2.10; ~3.1% yield), which is supportive of income‑oriented holders and can buoy the share price. MarketBeat: WMB Profile & Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Late‑January cold weather sparked a natural gas price rally, a macro tailwind for midstream operators like Williams that can lift throughput and fee revenue. Cold Weather Boosts Natural Gas Prices
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect Q4 results to show ~21% profit growth and ~14% revenue growth, setting up the Feb. 10 print as the immediate catalyst — a potential beat could reverse the pullback, while a miss would likely deepen it. Zacks Q4 Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: The Street’s average price target (~$68.29) and mixed analyst coverage imply limited consensus upside from current levels — a neutral backdrop that can mute strong moves absent a clear earnings surprise. Average Price Target $68.29
• Negative Sentiment: US Capital Advisors trimmed several 2026 EPS forecasts (Q2/Q3/Q4 and FY), shaving near‑term earnings expectations — modest but a downward revision that can pressure the stock ahead of results. MarketBeat: Analyst Estimate Changes
• Negative Sentiment: Senior VP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares (~$132,780), a small insider disposition that some investors view negatively even though his remaining stake remains large. SEC filing: SEC Form 4

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.