Wedbush Has Negative Outlook for Williams-Sonoma Q1 Earnings

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) – Analysts at Wedbush cut their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Williams-Sonoma in a note issued to investors on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush analyst S. Basham now anticipates that the specialty retailer will post earnings of $1.69 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.72. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Williams-Sonoma’s current full-year earnings is $8.36 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Williams-Sonoma’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.72 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.43 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.02 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.00 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on WSM. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 4.1 %

WSM opened at $170.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.90.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its 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. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

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.