Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $170.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price decreased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $195.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.12% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WSM. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $163.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.03.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in 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 during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 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.