Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

WSM has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an underperform rating to a hold rating and upped their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $144.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $154.31.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $181.97 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $109.44 and a 1 year high of $182.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $153.76 and a 200-day moving average of $137.10.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The specialty retailer reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 61.68% and a net margin of 11.99%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 13.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 19th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 24.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $15,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 565,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,875,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total transaction of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,630,201.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $15,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 565,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,875,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 130,000 shares of company stock valued at $19,496,290. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.9% during the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.7% during the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 10,792 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,352,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 3.2% during the second quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.