Robert W. Baird Upgrades Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) to Outperform

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) was upgraded by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $170.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 21.94% from the company’s current price.

WSM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $139.41 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $183.80 and its 200 day moving average is $173.77. The company has a market cap of $17.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 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.