Morgan Stanley Increases Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $200.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has increased its price target for Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.30% from its current share price.
• Other analysts have varying ratings and price targets, with Royal Bank of Canada setting a target of $213.00 and KeyCorp increasing theirs to $230.00.
• Williams-Sonoma reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.00, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.79.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential upside of 6.30% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.94.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $4.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $188.14. The stock had a trading volume of 465,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,911,464. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $182.75 and its 200 day moving average is $172.66. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,349,680. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,471,152,000 after buying an additional 2,797,562 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,991,697 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $978,864,000 after buying an additional 127,597 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 worth $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $284,532,000 after buying an additional 407,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $283,686,000 after buying an additional 401,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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