Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $136.00 to $145.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Williams-Sonoma traded as high as $175.80 and last traded at $169.36, with a volume of 1258915 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $137.24.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $141.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.33. The company has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors 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 1.30%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.