Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Cut to $175.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from $180.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “in-line” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.71% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.60.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE WSM traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $159.51. 275,183 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,977,211. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.