Williams-Sonoma (WSM) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) will likely be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, March 12th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.88 per share and revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $182.98 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $117.13 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $201.38 and a 200-day moving average of $169.03.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.28.

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.