<div id="readability-page-1"><p><span>Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report)</span> was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a report issued on Wednesday.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Williams Companies</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>Top 3 Stocks to Buy Now as Energy Sector Hits Buy Zone</li></ul><p>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 &#34;neutral&#34; rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of Williams Companies from an &#34;overweight&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Argus raised shares of Williams Companies from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;buy&#34; 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 &#34;outperform&#34; 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 &#34;equal weight&#34; 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 &#34;Hold&#34; and an average target price of $41.42.</p><p><b>Read Our Latest Research Report on Williams Companies</b></p><h2>Williams Companies Stock Down 1.4 %</h2><ul><li>Are defensive sectors ready to outshine growth in 2024?</li></ul><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><h2>Insider Buying and Selling</h2><ul><li>10 Best Natural Gas Stocks to Buy Now</li></ul><p>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 &amp; Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. </p><h2>Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies</h2><p>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 &amp; Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Everett Harris &amp; 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 &amp; Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Schulhoff &amp; 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 &amp; Company boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. L.M. Kohn &amp; 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. </p><h2>Williams Companies Company Profile</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission &amp; Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&amp;P, West, and Gas &amp; NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission &amp; 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.</p><h2>Featured Articles</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Williams Companies</li><li>Investing in large cap stocks: Diving into big caps</li><li>Stock Impact: McDonald's Price War with Starbucks, Wendy's</li><li>What is the S&amp;P/TSX Index?</li><li>General Mills Q4 Sales Miss Expectations, Triggering Stock Drop</li><li>Investing in the High PE Growth Stocks </li><li>Enovix Stock Rises 35% in Short-Squeeze: This Rally Has Legs</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVdNQg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="330" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVdNQg"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><p>→ Elon Musk: “This Could be Massive…a Multi Trillion-Dollar Company.” <span><span>(From Paradigm Press)</span> <span>(Ad)</span></span><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/TriggeredCampaignPixel.ashx/query-UGxhY2VtZW50PU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmU291cmNlPU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmVHJpZ2dlcmVkQ2FtcGFpZ25JRD04NTA5?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" height="1" width="1" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/TriggeredCampaignPixel.ashx/query-UGxhY2VtZW50PU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmU291cmNlPU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmVHJpZ2dlcmVkQ2FtcGFpZ25JRD04NTA5"/></p><h2>Should you invest $1,000 in Williams Companies right now?</h2><p>Before you consider Williams Companies, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Williams Companies wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Williams Companies currently has a &#34;Hold&#34; rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p> </div>

<p>Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) was downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by StockNews.com. Several other analysts have also commented on WMB. The company's stock traded down 1.4% and has a 52-week low of $30.90 and a 52-week high of $43.22. Williams Companies last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter.</p>

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