UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. UBS Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 0.76% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $158.79. 932,522 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,039,640. The company has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The company's fifty day moving average price is $156.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.07. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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