Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $60.52 and last traded at $60.41, with a volume of 2285028 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.12. The company has a market capitalization of $72.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,960 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 11,627 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 17.8% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 25,671 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares during the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.8% during the second quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Williams Companies by 60.7% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 233,388 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,919,000 after purchasing an additional 88,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 36.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 212,982 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,052,000 after buying an additional 57,106 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.