Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma updated its FY 2025 guidance to EPS.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $166.20 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $198.39 and its 200-day moving average is $171.88.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.53.

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.