Williams Companies heads into its August 3 earnings release having already reported July 30 results — and the repositioning since that print tells an interesting story.
Short interest dropped sharply after the July 30 event, falling roughly 15% on the week to 1.67% of the free float. That continues the trend flagged in previous previews: bears have been retreating through July, not building. Borrow costs have also eased another 23% on the week to just 0.43%, the lowest level in at least a month. Availability remains extraordinary at nearly 7,835% of short interest — around 78 shares available to lend for every one currently borrowed — with the lending pool showing no sign of tightening. The stock itself has given back 5.8% on the week to close at $70.91, a move that looks more like sector softness than a negative reaction to results: close peers TRGP and AM fell 6.9% and 5.8% respectively over the same period, while KMI shed less than 2%.
Options traders have turned notably more bullish than usual into this follow-on print. The put/call ratio is running at 0.44, roughly 1.5 standard deviations below its 20-day average of 0.48 — meaning call demand is elevated relative to recent norms. That reading sits closer to the 52-week low of 0.28 than the high of 1.45, consistent with a market that is not braced for downside.
The analyst debate reflects a genuine tension between duration and near-term execution. Bulls lean on stable fee-based cash flow, a dividend score ranking in the 96th percentile of the ORTEX universe, and sustained LNG-driven demand for natural gas transmission. Morgan Stanley nudged its target to $99 in mid-July, keeping its Overweight, and JPMorgan raised to $89 at the start of the month. The mean target across the Street sits at $83.77, implying roughly 18% upside from current levels. Bears, however, flag that 2026 growth is running below the company's own long-term target, that heavy investment in AI/data-centre power generation projects introduces execution risk, and that the EV/EBITDA of around 13.4x leaves limited room for disappointment. Jefferies was a lone voice trimming its target — to $85 from $87 — while maintaining Buy, suggesting even sceptics on valuation aren't ready to turn negative.
The August 3 print will test whether the sequential cadence of cash flow and project-backlog progress justifies the Street's patience at a stock that remains 15% below its highs, even as the borrow market and options positioning both signal the bull camp is not yet ready to stand down.
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