Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $209.0625.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Argus set a $230.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $205.03 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $152.20 and a 1 year high of $222.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.47. The firm has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 9.34 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total transaction of $436,374.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,833.99. This trade represents a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This trade represents a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Aristotle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% in the first quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,031,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009,032 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $316,920,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $254,778,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 102.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,108,589 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $202,129,000 after purchasing an additional 561,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,566,000 after purchasing an additional 532,995 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.