Evercore ISI Cuts Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $300.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price lowered by Evercore ISI from $315.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $279.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $269.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.24. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $319.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted 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 valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $3,632,000. Finally, CapWealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $3,075,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.