| Over a week ago | ||||
Williams' board of… Williams' board of directors has approved a regular dividend of 44.75c per share, or $1.79 annualized, on the company's common stock, payable on March 27, 2023, to holders of record at the close of business on March 13, 2023. This is a 5.3% increase from Williams' fourth-quarter 2022 quarterly dividend of 42.5c per share, paid in December 2022. | ||||
US Capital Advisors… US Capital Advisors analyst James Carreker upgraded Williams to Overweight from Hold with a $36 price target. | ||||
Barclays analyst Marc… Barclays analyst Marc Solecitto downgraded Williams to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $37, up from $35. The analyst sees a "more moderate upside profile" coming into 2023 for the company given the lower gas price environment and its "premium" valuation. | ||||
Barclays analyst Marc… Barclays analyst Marc Solecitto downgraded Williams to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $37 price target. | ||||
| Over a month ago | ||||
Mizuho analyst Gabriel… Mizuho analyst Gabriel Moreen lowered the firm's price target on Williams to $39 from $40 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company announced the acquisition of the legacy-Questar natural gas pipelines from Southwest Gas. The analyst views the acquisition favorably saying Williams is is acquiring assets "that are higher quality, albeit lower-growth." He also believes the deal makes it less likely Williams will return capital via share buybacks in the medium-term. | ||||
Wells Fargo analyst… Wells Fargo analyst Praneeth Satish downgraded Williams to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $37, down from $39. The analyst is positive on midstream heading in 2023, believing the sector's "solid" underlying fundamentals, "reasonable" valuations, and improved free cash flow should support outperformance on a relative basis. A combination of continued producer discipline should limit supply growth, which combined with OPEC+ action, should provide a floor for oil prices, Wells analysts tells investors in a research note. They expect a rebound in natural gas liquid demand as China re-opens, and for U.S. liquefied natural gas demand to stay robust buoyed by Europe and China. Wells makes a host of rating changes to reflect an emphasis on these themes "overlaid by relative valuations." | ||||
Williams (WMB) announced… Williams (WMB) announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire MountainWest from Southwest Gas (SWX), in a transaction including $1.07B of cash and $0.43B of assumed debt, for an enterprise value of $1.5B. MountainWest comprises roughly 2,000-miles of interstate natural gas pipeline systems primarily located across Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, totaling approximately 8 Bcf/d of transmission capacity. MountainWest also holds 56 Bcf of total storage capacity, including the Clay Basin underground storage reservoir, providing valuable service to western markets. The acquisition price represents an approximate 8x estimated 2023 EBITDA multiple. The transaction is expected to close in 2023, following satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and the expiration or termination of any applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. | ||||
Reaches Agreement to Sell… Reaches Agreement to Sell MountainWest Pipelines for $1.5 Billion to Williams Decides to Spin Off Centuri, Creating Two Focused, Independent Companies Centuri, a Leading Independent Utility Infrastructure Services Business, Positioned for Continued Profitable Growth at the Forefront of Infrastructure Modernization and Energy Transition Southwest Gas Holdings to Become Fully Regulated Natural Gas Utility with Continued Focus on Providing Reliable, Sustainable and Affordable Energy across Arizona, Nevada and California Southwest Gas (SWX) is taking strategic actions to simplify the company's portfolio of businesses. These actions include entering into a definitive agreement to sell 100% of MountainWest Pipelines in an all-cash transaction to Williams (WMB) for $1.5B. Additionally, the company will pursue a spin-off of its wholly owned subsidiary, Centuri Group, to form a new independent publicly traded utility infrastructure services company. The separation is expected to drive value for stakeholders and provide stockholders with ownership in two independently traded public companies, ensure each management team can solely focus on optimizing and executing growth plans, position Southwest Gas to deliver more predictable earnings results. Net proceeds of the MountainWest sale will be used to repay the company's approximately $1.1B term loan. The transaction is expected to close in 2023. The transaction represents an estimated loss of $350M-$425M for Southwest Gas, net of tax. Upon completion of the spin-off of Centuri, the separation will result in two independent publicly traded companies: Southwest Gas and Centuri. The company is taking actions immediately to execute this transaction and plans to begin making necessary filings in 1Q23. Centuri has already been operating using a standalone business model and, as such, Southwest Gas is not anticipating any material changes to Centuri's operations and cost structure, nor is Southwest Gas expecting significant dis-synergies at Southwest Gas or Centuri as a result of the spin-off. The separation is expected to be completed in approximately 12 months and to be tax free to Southwest Gas and its stockholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. | ||||
