Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Raises Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 26,975 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at $27,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $38.95. 6,720,431 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,153,056. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.50 and its 200-day moving average is $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $47.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.27 and a 1-year high of $39.09.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 29.22%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.09.

About Williams Companies

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.