Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $226.00 to $208.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 25.29% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded down $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $166.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,430,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,580,492. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $198.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.88. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSM. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.