Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.83.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after purchasing an additional 323,400 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after buying an additional 214,669 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,213,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $223,833,000 after acquiring an additional 192,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 380,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $107,409,000 after acquiring an additional 161,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $144.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.20. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $71.56 and a 52-week high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 28.01%.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.