Loop Capital Issues Positive Forecast for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target hoisted by Loop Capital from $145.00 to $180.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

WSM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.3 %

WSM opened at $171.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $90.31 and a 12 month high of $181.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.87.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.