Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $165.01, but opened at $142.35. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $135.85, with a volume of 784,630 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.60.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $191.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.01. The company has a market capitalization of $17.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.