Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Raised to $123.00 at Barclays

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $116.00 to $123.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $173.44. 354,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,961,352. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $143.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $90.31 and a 1 year high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. TCW Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,958,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,302 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,707 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.