Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.40 EPS

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE WSM opened at $171.90 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.92.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Williams-Sonoma stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.28.

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.