Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Upgraded at Baird R W

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WSM. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $139.41 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $183.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.77. Williams-Sonoma has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $352,283,000 after acquiring an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,085,000 after acquiring an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.