Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $198.5556.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WSM. KeyCorp raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Argus set a $212.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total transaction of $18,015,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 876,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,534,477.59. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Randolph King sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.60, for a total transaction of $3,563,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,560 shares in the company, valued at $20,066,816. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,471,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,562 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth $212,107,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 184.3% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 861,236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $167,927,000 after purchasing an additional 558,311 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $85,075,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,664,000 after buying an additional 521,283 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE WSM opened at $189.27 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $195.22 and a 200-day moving average of $176.71. The firm has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

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.