Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has received an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with one sell, ten hold, seven buy, and one strong buy ratings among the nineteen research firms covering the stock.
• The company's stock price target varies with Barclays setting it at $166.00, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. has raised its target to $215.00.
• Williams-Sonoma recently reported better-than-expected earnings with $2.00 EPS, exceeding estimates and showing a 2.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the nineteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $199.1111.

A number of analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Zelman & Associates started coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 5.7%

NYSE:WSM opened at $203.05 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $186.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.52.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $1,424,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,019,000 after acquiring an additional 9,266 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 128.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 217,644 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $34,410,000 after purchasing an additional 122,180 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is 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.

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