Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WSM. Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a sell rating to a neutral rating and increased their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $249.31.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.8 %

WSM opened at $314.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $244.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.66. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78. The firm has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,329 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,906. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSM. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.