Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Given “Outperform” Rating at Telsey Advisory Group

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $220.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 55.00% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $141.94 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $188.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.93.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 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.