Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

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Several other analysts have also commented on WMB. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of Williams Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Argus raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.42.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Williams Companies

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

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Williams Companies stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.28. 4,932,708 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,728,423. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $30.90 and a 52-week high of $43.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.05. The business's 50-day moving average price is $40.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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In related news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $1,513,102.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 60,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 22,683 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 15,175 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 17,883 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,770 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 6,116 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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