Williams-Sonoma’s (WSM) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Bank of America

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Bank of America in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $250.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.35% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WSM. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.47.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 5.6%

NYSE WSM opened at $218.62 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $152.20 and a 12 month high of $222.00. The stock has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $190.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 106,892 shares of company stock valued at $19,826,826. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,438 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Arjuna Capital lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 3,564 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.