Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.21 EPS

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21, Zacks reports. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Williams-Sonoma updated its FY 2025 guidance to EPS.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $192.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $182.75 and a 200-day moving average of $172.66. The company has a market capitalization of $23.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $160.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $182.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.65.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,349,680 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 818,776 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $133,763,000 after purchasing an additional 156,515 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 84.2% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 412,076 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $67,321,000 after purchasing an additional 188,351 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 623.0% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 394,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $64,418,000 after purchasing an additional 339,771 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 614.5% during the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 260,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,574,000 after purchasing an additional 224,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 237,078 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,732,000 after purchasing an additional 39,611 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.