Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Receives Outperform Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their outperform rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $220.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $141.94 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $188.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.75.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 1.86%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 789.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,918 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $557,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,138,000 after buying an additional 28,880 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $1,111,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.