Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $177.93.

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $165.29 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $197.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.83. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $557,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $10,138,000 after buying an additional 28,880 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,111,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. 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.