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

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Wedbush from $135.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.82% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $171.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $143.08 and its 200-day moving average is $144.74. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $90.31 and a 1 year high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently 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.