Williams-Sonoma’s (WSM) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their outperform rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $165.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wedbush downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $130.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $80.49 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $141.35 and a 200 day moving average of $144.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in 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 during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 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.