Williams-Sonoma’s (WSM) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $258.38.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $279.76 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $348.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.95.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,145 shares of company stock valued at $18,552,819 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $274,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 425.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 78,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,751,000 after acquiring an additional 63,200 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.