Robert W. Baird Upgrades Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) to “Outperform”

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) was upgraded by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $170.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.77% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $141.94 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $188.18 and a 200 day moving average of $174.12. The company has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 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.