JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $136.00 to $145.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI dropped 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. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.84.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $137.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.44. The company has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $88.24 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $160,537,000 after acquiring an additional 792,068 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.