Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.41 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 80.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.42 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma updated its FY 2023 guidance to EPS.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $116.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.08. The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.62. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $101.58 and a 1-year high of $176.89.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 19.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $192.00 to $114.00 in a report on Monday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $151.00 to $143.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,499,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 24.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,408,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,292,000 after purchasing an additional 273,424 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 815,713 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $93,742,000 after purchasing an additional 213,398 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 294.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 262,866 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,209,000 after purchasing an additional 196,152 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 36.3% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 640,563 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,071,000 after purchasing an additional 170,511 shares during the period. 99.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Williams-Sonoma

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Williams-Sonoma, Inc engages in the retailing of home products. It operates through the following segments: Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen and Other. The Other segment includes net revenues from international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham.