Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 EPS.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $152.28 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.92. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 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.