Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Raised to $195.00 at TD Cowen

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target increased by TD Cowen from $165.00 to $195.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush downgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $171.98 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.82. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $90.31 and a one year high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after buying an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after acquiring an additional 792,068 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.