Analysts Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) PT at $199.00

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. Argus set a $212.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total transaction of $695,765.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 12,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.07, for a total value of $2,201,992.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 846,927 shares in the company, valued at $153,353,071.89. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 33,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,082,197 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 153.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 7,439 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 54.9% in the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,961,000 after buying an additional 8,592 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $655,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 816,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $133,029,000 after buying an additional 60,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 918.6% during the second quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 5,093 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 4,593 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $189.60 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $130.07 and a one year high of $219.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

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.