Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Upgraded by Barclays to “Equal Weight” Rating

Barclays upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $166.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $131.00.

WSM has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.81.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $174.13 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $156.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $35,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.