Why the Williams Companies Stock Rose 37% in April
Shares of midstream energy-focused The Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) rose 37% in April according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. That was a dramatic reversal of fortunes from March, when the stock was down 25%. The March swoon, however, included an approximate halving of the company's value before things started to turn around. While these two months reflect the broader risk-off/risk-on moods of Wall Street, the price moves at Williams have been compounded by a severe dislocation in the energy sector because of COVID-19.
The energy industry has seen a massive supply/demand imbalance as social distancing efforts and business closures around the world have materially reduced demand. That's directly related to the global effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, there were already oversupply concerns in the industry, so the demand drop pushed energy prices sharply lower and, with the broadly negative investor sentiment in March, led to steep price declines throughout the energy industry. Williams got caught up in that drop.
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Source Fool.com
