Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSMFree Report) had its price target upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $162.00 to $189.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.41.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WSM

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WSM stock traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $173.82. 139,044 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,960,403. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $90.31 and a 1 year high of $181.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $143.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.74. The firm has a market cap of $21.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSMGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.97%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 worth $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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