Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.41 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 83.08% and a net margin of 13.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.42 EPS. Williams-Sonoma updated its FY 2023 guidance to EPS.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE WSM opened at $116.86 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.28. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $101.58 and a 12-month high of $176.89. The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.08, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.62.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSM. StockNews.com began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays downgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $192.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Monday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $109.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.47.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 95.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 710 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $107,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $216,000. 99.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Williams-Sonoma, Inc engages in the retailing of home products. It operates through the following segments: Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen and Other. The Other segment includes net revenues from international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham.