Williams-Sonoma’s (WSM) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Telsey Advisory Group

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $220.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 58.28% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $138.99 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.77. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.