Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13, FiscalAI reports. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded up $2.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $182.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 246,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,161,074. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $147.39 and a 1-year high of $222.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $183.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.70. The company has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total value of $3,660,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,967,732.48. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This trade represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 91,370 shares of company stock valued at $16,720,823 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company set a $185.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.38.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams?Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi?brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher?end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.