Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $165.01, but opened at $142.35. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $135.85, with a volume of 784,630 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.93.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.2 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.75. The company has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 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 business 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 business earned $5.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the 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 owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSM. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.