Telsey Advisory Group Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM)

Telsey Advisory Group restated their outperform rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $165.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on 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, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $140.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $146.12 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $71.56 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26. The firm has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.