Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Lowered to “Hold” at US Capital Advisors

US Capital Advisors cut shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) from an overweight rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday, Zacks.com reports. US Capital Advisors also issued estimates for Williams Companies’ Q1 2024 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.39 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.39 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.87 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.02 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an underperform rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $39.22.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $38.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Williams Companies has a 12-month low of $28.27 and a 12-month high of $39.76. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.95.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 29.22% and a return on equity of 16.20%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.