Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Cut to $208.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $226.00 to $208.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.39% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on WSM. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.0 %

WSM opened at $163.27 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.03. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during 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%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.