Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price raised by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential downside of 3.74% from the company’s current price.

WSM has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE WSM traded down $3.63 on Thursday, reaching $171.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,672,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,960,644. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $89.87 and a 52 week high of $181.42. The firm has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $142.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $171,239,000 after purchasing an additional 565,745 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.