Williams-Sonoma’s (WSM) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their outperform rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $220.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $141.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.12. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd 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. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 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.