KeyCorp Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective raised by research analysts at KeyCorp from $230.00 to $250.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.75% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WSM. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.65.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $223.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.22. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $161.76 and a 12-month high of $244.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 55,320 shares of company stock worth $10,516,069 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,964,000 after acquiring an additional 87,642 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,473,000 after acquiring an additional 89,779 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,844.3% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 47,733 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,703,000 after purchasing an additional 45,278 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 294,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,612,000 after purchasing an additional 56,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,173,000. Hedge funds and other 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.