Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Raised to “Neutral” at UBS Group

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $165.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $140.00. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential downside of 0.72% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on WSM. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 3.5 %

WSM stock opened at $166.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $198.39 and a 200-day moving average of $171.88. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 239.1% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 106.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,694 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at about $3,142,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 94.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,454 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,718,000 after purchasing an additional 14,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,837,000 after purchasing an additional 21,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.