Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Barclays

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $166.00 price objective on the specialty retailer's stock, up from their previous price objective of $131.00. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential downside of 4.61% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WSM. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.81.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $174.02 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $290,121,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $170,267,000 after purchasing an additional 254,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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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