Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

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

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Argus set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total transaction of $695,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 12,161 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.07, for a total value of $2,201,992.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 846,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,353,071.89. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 126,653 shares of company stock valued at $24,724,440. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 153.7% during the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 7,439 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 54.9% during 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 last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $655,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew 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 valued at $133,029,000 after acquiring an additional 60,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 918.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $187.39 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $186.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.26. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $130.07 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

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.