Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $247.48 and last traded at $247.9470, with a volume of 46366 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $239.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, July 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus set a $230.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.47.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $29.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $221.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.16.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 938,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,998,627.64. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aristotle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% in the first quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,031,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009,032 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $316,920,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at about $254,778,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 102.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,108,589 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $202,129,000 after purchasing an additional 561,977 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,117,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,506,000 after purchasing an additional 516,593 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams?Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi?brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher?end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.