Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. reported a strong quarterly earnings of $2.00 earnings per share, surpassing the expected $1.78 estimate by $0.22.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a mixed outlook with one Strong Buy rating, several Buy ratings, and an average price target of $189.65 for Williams-Sonoma's stock.

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $197.93, but opened at $204.01. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $195.94, with a volume of 663,837 shares changing hands.

The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.22. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $160.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $189.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% 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 Williams-Sonoma 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupe la Francaise raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 631 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% during the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% during the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.52. The company has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.47.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.