TD Cowen Boosts Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $160.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective upped by TD Cowen from $150.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.85% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.17.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WSM traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $145.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 187,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,995,901. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.06 and a 200-day moving average of $144.59. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $69.95 and a 1 year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total value of $6,258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,070,956 shares in the company, valued at $167,551,066.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total value of $6,258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,070,956 shares in the company, valued at $167,551,066.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $152,843,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $108,345,000 after buying an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,213,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $223,833,000 after purchasing an additional 192,432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.