Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $208.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $226.00 to $208.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 27.39% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WSM. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $163.27 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $197.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.03.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $557,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 111.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,138,000 after acquiring an additional 28,880 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $1,111,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Hedge funds and other 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.