Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Acquires Shares in Williams Companies Inc. Despite

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. recently acquired 164,162 shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter of the year, valued at approximately $5,401,000. With the acquisition of these shares, Williams Companies now comprises 1.4% of Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s investment portfolio, ranking as its 22nd largest position. This news has garnered particular attention from research firms who have assessed WMB’s current standing in the stock market.

According to a number of these research firms such as Morgan Stanley and Barclays, market analysts have lowered their target price for Williams Companies from $41.00 to $39.00 on Tuesday 25th April and $36.00 to $35.00 on Tuesday April 18th respectively based on prior market trends and future predictions.

On May 16th however Citigroup bucked this trend as it upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating with a target estimate cost for future shares being set at $36.00 for Williams Companies’ stock options. Conversely Argus downgraded shares of William Companies’ status from a “buy” rating to a “hold” status in earlier February stating that current year predictions looked unfavourable.

Further evaluations have been made by Wells Fargo & Company who recently dropped their price target on WMB stocks from $37.00 to $36.00 and provided an equal weight rating on the company’s equity value following thorough analysis.

As it stands one analyst has already given Williams Corporation a “sell” rating for fear that current performances will affect overall profits sitting alongside eight keeping “hold” ratings and five issuing “buy” ratings. According to Bloomberg.com average reports suggest that there might be cause for concern resulting in predictions portraying potential drawbacks if counteractive methods are not put in place soon enough.

The Williams Corporations as itself is still performing at a moderate rate with current shares sustained at $30.57 on Friday in line with its 12-month low of $27.80 and high of $35.79 showcasing fluctuations however indicative of potential success yet to be exploited.

The company is currently worth an estimated market capitalization of $37.24 billion, holding firmly onto a P/E ratio of 14.35, P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and traditional beta level rates at 1.16.These averages are worth taking into consideration as are the figures produced to best forecast investment opportunities that could benefit from their investments in Williams Companies Inc.’s stock capability in the long run.

Williams Companies sees increase in institutional investors and hedge funds

Williams Companies, a major pipeline company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has seen an increase in the number of institutional investors and hedge funds both increasing and reducing their stakes in the company over recent months. According to a recent report, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position by 0.6%, now owning nearly seven hundred thousand shares worth approximately $22 million after acquiring almost four thousand additional shares in Q4 2017 alone. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position by 61.8% during the same period, now owning 1.26 million shares valued at $41.6 million following the acquisition of nearly half a million new shares. Meanwhile, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. saw growth in its position of over one thousand percent as it purchased an additional eight hundred shares worth thirty-one thousand dollars in Q4 2017.

Despite this good news for investors, there have been some changes within Williams Companies’ senior management team: SVP Scott A. Hallam recently sold almost 15,000 shares for an average price of $30.64 per share, netting just under $441k in total sales revenue.

Several industry analysts have updated their positions on Williams Companies recently; some have lowered target prices from between $36 and $41 to between $35 and $39 per share. However, Citigroup upgraded their rating on the company from neutral to buy with a price target of $36 per share last month.

The company reported strong earnings earlier this quarter – announcing EPS of $0.56 in comparison to an estimated EPS of only $0.46 – as well as better-than-expected revenue figures ($3.08 billion compared with consensus…