Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) - What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Eight of 18 analysts rate Williams-Sonoma as a hold, while 10 recommend buying the stock. The average 12-month price target is $245.56.
• Williams-Sonoma beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.10 in EPS versus the $2.08 consensus and $1.96 billion in revenue, up 6.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a $3.04 annual payout and a 1.3% yield. Meanwhile, company insiders sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans, totaling about $8.8 million over the past 90 days.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $245.56.

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group set a $261.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $253.00 price objective for the company. Telsey Advisory Group set a $260.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $241.40 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $165.51 and a 52 week high of $254.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $234.34 and a 200-day moving average of $214.70.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.48% and a net margin of 14.73%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,045 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.61, for a total transaction of $671,757.45. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,531,184.18. This trade represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.20, for a total value of $7,742,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 853,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $188,799,508.80. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 39,567 shares of company stock worth $8,792,373 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 752 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.4% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,904 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 461,832 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $107,652,000 after purchasing an additional 22,833 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,906,785 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,376,872,000 after purchasing an additional 112,683 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma, Inc is an omnichannel specialty retailer focused on home furnishings, décor, kitchenware and related lifestyle products. The company operates a portfolio of brands that includes Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Williams Sonoma Home and Mark & Graham.

Its products include cookware, cutlery, appliances, tabletop goods, furniture, bedding, bath products, lighting, rugs, textiles, decorative accessories, gifts and personalized items.

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