TD Cowen Issues Positive Forecast for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target boosted by TD Cowen from $210.00 to $245.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $175.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.76.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.7%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $205.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.58. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $130.07 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total value of $157,357.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,715,497.76. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,812 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 133,348 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $23,815,000 after purchasing an additional 11,452 shares during the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $93,000. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,614 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.