LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Williams Companies
built 215 days ago
The Williams Companies, Inc. (Williams), incorporated in 1949, is a natural gas company. The Company primarily finds, produces, gathers, processes and transports natural gas. Its operations are concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Gulf Coast and the Eastern Seaboard. Its activities are primarily operated through business segments, which include Exploration & Production, Gas Pipeline, Midstream Gas & Liquids, and Gas Marketing Services. Exploration & Production produces, develops and manages natural gas reserves primarily located in the Rocky Mountain and Mid-Continent regions of the United States. Gas Pipeline includes interstate natural gas pipelines and pipeline joint venture investments.
Source:
Williams Companies is Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company that is trading very close to its 52-week high. The company recently reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year results. Shortly thereafter, WMB increased the quarterly cash distribution payable to unitholders to 57.5 cents from 55 cents. This was the eighth consecutive quarter the partnership upped its cash distribution. Wall Street applauded WMB's strong results, lifting full-year 2008 earnings estimates over the past seven trading days. The company's earnings are expected to grow by 12% over the next 3 - 5 years, which is double the industry's average of 6%.
Source:
Williams Companies has a current Overall Rating of C (Neutral). Power Rating (90) is very high; appreciation potential (30) is low. Relative to the S&P 500 Composite, Williams Companies Inc has both Growth and Value characteristics -- its appeal is likely to be to investors neutral towards Income. WMB is of very low investment quality. Current annual total return performance of 30.8% is upper quartile. Current 5-year total return performance of -19.2% is lower quartile.
Source:
On December 12, the Williams Companies Inc. and Transco Energy Co. announced a cash tender offer by Williams to acquire up to 24.6 million shares, or 60 percent of Transco stock, for $17.50 per share. Combined with assumed debt and preferred shares, Williams' acquisition cost will total about $3 billion. Following completion of the tender offer, a newly formed subsidiary of Williams will be merged into Transco, with Transco continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Williams. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. Williams ... is in the process of selling its fiber-optic company, WilTel Network Services, for $2.5 billion. Some proceeds of this sale will be used to fund the Transco purchase.
Source:
The Williams Companies, Inc. is a natural gas company originally incorporated under the laws of the state of Nevada in 1949 and reincorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware in 1987. It was founded in 1908 when two Williams brothers began a construction company in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Today, it primarily finds, produces, gathers, processes and transports natural gas. The Company ... manages a wholesale power business. Its operations are concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Gulf Coast, Southern California and Eastern Seaboard. Majority of the Company's operations are conducted through its subsidiaries.
Source:
At the same time, The Williams Companies, Inc. showed that it was serious about the telecommunications business. In 1987 Williams acquired LDX NET, Inc., which owned a 1,295-mile-long fiber-optic network. In 1989 WilTel became the fourth largest fiber-optic telecommunications company in the United States when it acquired another fiber-optics concern, LIGHTNET, and added 4,500 miles to its system. This gave Williams a total of more than 11,000 miles over fiber-optic cable, transmitting signals from New England to the Pacific coast.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Williams Companies