Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wedbush Analyst Says

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Wedbush from $135.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.09% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on WSM. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.1 %

WSM traded down $3.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $171.41. 1,672,574 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,960,644. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $142.34 and its 200 day moving average is $144.55. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $89.87 and a 52 week high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSM. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 101.9% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. TCW Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,958,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 32.0% in the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,302 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is 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.