Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising to 5,810,000 shares by July 15, which marked a 343.5% increase from the previous month.
• Insider transactions included CEO Laura Alber selling 30,000 shares at an average price of $168.18, reducing her ownership by 3.01%, while CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares, reflecting a 10.42% decrease in his holdings.
• Analyst ratings for Williams-Sonoma show a mix of opinions, with one sell rating, ten hold ratings, and seven buy ratings, resulting in an average price target of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,810,000 shares, anincreaseof343.5% from the June 30th total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 16,756 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 3,138 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 36,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,600 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 121,058 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $19,777,000 after purchasing an additional 7,687 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 56.1% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 4,207 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.3%

WSM stock opened at $187.68 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $167.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.45.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

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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