Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $165.01, but opened at $142.35. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $135.85, with a volume of 784,630 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.2 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.75. The company has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of 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 trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,085,000 after buying an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. 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.