Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Neutral” Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $165.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $140.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $163.27 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $197.13 and a 200-day moving average of $172.32. The company has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during 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. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.