Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $76.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Williams Companies traded as high as $68.46 and last traded at $68.1270, with a volume of 2228833 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.34.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Mizuho upgraded Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.64.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total transaction of $132,780.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 293,545 shares in the company, valued at $19,488,452.55. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $498,700. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies News Roundup

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

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,963,343 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,052,537,000 after purchasing an additional 883,245 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,586,299 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,077,942,000 after buying an additional 6,668,950 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Williams Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,575,898 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $923,383,000 after buying an additional 158,077 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $765,164,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 190.3% in the second quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $755,490,000 after acquiring an additional 7,884,730 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 3.1%

The stock 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 103.09%.

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.